Molecular electronics is considered a promising approach for future nanoelectronic devices. In order that molecular junctions can be used as electrical switches or even memory devices, they need to be actuated between two distinct conductance states in a controlled and reproducible manner by external stimuli. Here we present a tripodal platform with a cantilever arm and a nitrile group at its end that is lifted from the surface. The formation of a coordinative bond between the nitrile nitrogen and the gold tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope can be controlled by both electrical and mechanical means, and leads to a hysteretic switching of the conductance of the junction by more than two orders of magnitude. This toggle switch can be actuated with high reproducibility so that the forces involved in the mechanical deformation of the molecular cantilever can be determined precisely with scanning tunnelling microscopy.

The efficient synthesis of tripodal platforms based on tetraphenylmethane with three acetyl-protected thiol groups in either meta or para positions relative to the central sp(3) carbon for deposition on Au (111) surfaces is reported. These platforms are intended to provide a vertical arrangement of the substituent in position 4 of the perpendicular phenyl ring and an electronic coupling to the gold substrate. The self-assembly features of both derivatives are analyzed on Au (111) surfaces by low-temperature ultra-high-vacuum STM, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and reductive voltammetric desorption studies. These experiments indicated that the meta derivative forms a well-ordered monolayer, with most of the anchoring groups bound to the surface, whereas the para derivative forms a multilayer film with physically adsorbed adlayers on the chemisorbed para monolayer. Single-molecule conductance values for both tripodal platforms are obtained through an STM break junction experiment.

Nanoporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) equipped with light-responsive azobenzene pendant groups present a novel family of smart materials, enabling advanced applications like switchable guest adsorption, membranes with tunable molecular separation factors, and photoswitchable proton conduction. Although it is obvious that for small pore sizes, steric constraints may prohibit azobenzene switching, guidelines for optimizing the MOF architecture to achieve large switching effects have not yet been established. Here, a series of five different photoswitchable azobenzene-containing pillared-layer MOF structures is presented. The switching effect is quantified by the light-induced increase of the uptake amount of butanol as the probe molecule. For fast and reproducible measurements, thin well-defined MOF films, referred to as surface-mounted MOFs (SURMOFs), were used in combination with a quartz crystal microbalance. Although the series comprises similar MOF structures, the magnitude of the switching effect considerably differs, here by a factor of 5. The uptake data show that, rather than the pore size or the number of azobenzene molecules per pore, the density of azobenzene per pore volume is crucial. The finding that a large switching effect is reached for a high density of azobenzene moieties per MOF unit cell provides the basis for further applications of photoswitchable MOFs and SURMOFs.

One-electron reduction of the "extended viologen" dication 1 yields the red cation radical 2, characterized by strong near-IR absorption. It has been generated and studied by pulse radiolytic, electrochemical, redox titration, UV-visible, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic methods. All results are in agreement with a fully delocalized electronic structure for 2.