C₆₀ as an Atom Trap to Capture Co Adatoms

C₆₀ molecules were used to trap Co adatoms and clusters on a Au(111) surface using atomic/molecular manipulation with a scanning tunneling microscope. Two manipulation pathways (successive integration of single Co atoms in one molecule or direct integration of a Co cluster) were found to efficiently allow the formation of complexes mixing a C₆₀ molecule with Co atoms. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals the robustness of the pi states of C₆₀ that are preserved after Co trapping. Scanning tunneling microscopy images and density functional theory calculations reveal that dissociated Co clusters of up to nine atoms can be formed at the molecule-substrate interface. These results open new perspectives in the interactions between metal adatoms and molecules, for applications in metal-organic devices