Direct observation of the disorder of the methyl group of (R)-1,2-diaminopropane ligand in the quasi-1D bromo-bridged Ni(III) complex by STM

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been measured in quasi-one-dimensional (Quasi-ID) bromo-bridged Ni(III) complexes. In the STM image of [Ni(pn)₂Br]Br₂ (pn = (R)-1,2-diaminopropane), the bright spots are fluctuated zigzags. Such a result indicates that the methyl groups of the pn ligands are not arranged on the right- and left-hand alternatively along the chains, but in the domain structures or fluctuated structures. This is the first direct observation of the disorder of the methyl group of pn ligands in real space.