The spin-dependent electronic transport properties of M(dcdmp)2 (M = Cu, Au, Co, Ni) molecular devices based on zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes

Highlights: • The spin-dependent electronic transport properties of M(dcdmp)₂ molecular devices based on 6ZGNR electrodes. • The spin-dependent transport properties of the M(dcdmp)₂ molecular devices can be controlled by the spin configurations of the 6ZGNR electrodes. • The central 3d-transition metals atom can introduce a larger magnetism. • The perfect spin filtering effect, negative differential resistance, rectifying effect and magnetic resistance phenomena can be observed. - Abstract: The spin-dependent electronic transport properties of M(dcdmp)₂ (M = Cu, Au, Co, Ni; dcdmp = 2,3-dicyano-5,6-dimercaptopyrazyne) molecular devices based on zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) electrodes were investigated by density functional theory combined nonequilibrium Green's function method (DFT-NEGF). Our results show that the spin-dependent transport properties of the M(dcdmp)₂ molecular devices can be controlled by the spin configurations of the ZGNR electrodes, and the central 3d-transition metal atom can introduce a larger magnetism than that of the nonferrous metal one. Moreover, the perfect spin filtering effect, negative differential resistance, rectifying effect and magnetic resistance phenomena can be observed in our proposed M(dcdmp)₂ molecular devices.