Unambiguous One-Molecule Conductance Measurements under Ambient Conditions

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2011 papers

Abstract

One of the challenging goals of molecular electronics is to wire exactly one molecule between two electrodes. This is generally nontrivial under ambient conditions. We describe a new and straightforward protocol for unambiguously isolating a single organic molecule on a metal surface and wiring it inside a nanojunction under ambient conditions. Our strategy employs C(60) terminal groups which act as molecular beacons allowing molecules to be visualized and individually targeted on a gold surface using an scanning tunneling microscope. After isolating one molecule, we then use the C(60) groups as alligator clips to wire it between the tip and surface. Once wired, we can monitor how the conductance of a purely one molecule junction evolves with time, stretch the molecule in the junction, observing characteristic current plateaus upon elongation, and also perform direct I-V spectroscopy. By characterizing and controlling the junction, we can draw stronger conclusions about the observed variation in molecular conductance than was previously possible.

Related Papers

• → Unambiguous One-Molecule Conductance Measurements under Ambient Conditions(2011)86 cited
• → Multichannel Conductance of Folded Single‐Molecule Wires Aided by Through‐Space Conjugation(2015)24 cited
• → Functional oligothiophenes toward molecular wires in single-molecular electronics(2012)12 cited
• → Single‐Molecule Doping: Conductance Changed By Transition Metal Centers in Salen Molecules(2021)9 cited
• → Single-molecule conductance of dipyridines binding to Ag electrodes measured by electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy break junction(2014)8 cited