Conductance of a Molecular Junction

Reed, Mark A.; Zhou, Chongwu; Muller, C. J.; Burgin, T.; Tour, James M.

doi:10.1126/science.278.5336.252

Cited by 3,371 publications

(2,729 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…1 Important examples include ligation of gold nanoparticles, 2, 3 two probe conductance measurements of single molecules, [4][5][6][7] and surface functionalization of Au(111) by Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs). 8,9 All of these applications rely on anchoring via strong Au-thiolate bonds.…”

Section: Carlomentioning

confidence: 99%

From Au–Thiolate Chains to Thioether Sierpiński Triangles: The Versatile Surface Chemistry of 1,3,5-Tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene on Au(111)

et al. 2016

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Self-assembly of 1,3,5-tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene (TMB) -a three-fold symmetric, thiol functionalized aromatic molecule -was studied on Au(111) with the aim to realize extended Authiolate linked molecular architectures. The focus lay on resolving thermally activated structural and chemical changes by a combination of microscopy and spectroscopy. Thereby Scanning Tunneling Microscopy provided submolecularly resolved structural information, while the chemical state of sulfur was assessed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Directly after room temperature deposition only less well ordered structures were observed. Mild annealing promoted the first structural transition into ordered molecular chains, partly organized in homochiral molecular braids. Further annealing led to self-similar Sierpi ski triangles, while annealing at even higher temperatures again resulted in mostly disordered structures. Both the irregular aggregates observed at room temperature and the chains were identified as metalorganic assemblies, whereby two out of the three intermolecular binding motifs are energetically equivalent according to Density Functional Theory simulations. The emergence of Sierpi ski triangles is driven by a chemical transformation, i.e. the conversion of coordinative Au-thiolate to covalent thioether linkages, and can be further understood by Monte Carlo simulations. The great structural variance of TMB on Au(111) can on one hand be explained by the energetic equivalence of two binding motifs. On the other hand, the unexpected chemical transition even enhances the structural variance and results in thiol-derived covalent molecular architectures.3 KEYWORDS surface chemistry, on-surface synthesis, thiolate, thioether, fractals, STM, XPS, DFT, Monte CarloThe notorious affinity of thiols to gold is beneficial for molecular nano-science. 1 Important examples include ligation of gold nanoparticles, 2, 3 two probe conductance measurements of single molecules, [4][5][6][7] and surface functionalization of Au(111) by Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs). 8,9 All of these applications rely on anchoring via strong Au-thiolate bonds. Even though thiolate SAMs are widespread, structural details of the anchor bond were discussed controversially for a long time. Yet, a consensus seems to be reached insofar as Au-thiolate complexes formed with gold adatoms play an important role. 10 The promising properties of RSAu-SR linkages, in particular their electric conductance and their ability to form spontaneously on Au(111) motivated the present study with the aim to utilize these linkages for extended molecular nanostructures. To this end 1,3,5-tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene (TMB) as a threefold functionalized and suitable model compound for network formation is studied on Au(111).Owing to both the extended triphenylbenzene backbone and the three-point anchoring via thiolate-surface bonds, planar adsorption is anticipated as an important prerequisite for extended networks. In contrast to SAMs, where the prevalent monothiols adopt upri...

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Section: Carlomentioning

confidence: 99%

From Au–Thiolate Chains to Thioether Sierpiński Triangles: The Versatile Surface Chemistry of 1,3,5-Tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene on Au(111)

et al. 2016

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“…21 The single molecule switching marks new limits in electronic devices at the edge of nanometric scale. The experiment was performed on 1,2-bis[5 0 -(5 00 -acetylsulfanylthien-2 00 -yl)-2 0 -methylthien-3 0 -yl]cyclopentene, shown in Scheme 2.…”

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Electrochemical and Photochemical Cyclization and Cycloreversion of Diarylethenes and Diarylethene-Capped Sexithiophene Wires

et al. 2011

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A combined theoretical and experimental study was performed on diarylethenes and diarylethene-capped sexithiophenes aiming at an improved understanding of the electrochemical and photochemical ring-opening and ring-closing mechanisms. Theoretical calculations, based on DFT and TDDFT, suggested that the spatial distribution and the occupancy of the frontier orbitals determine and control the diarylethenes’ ring-opening and ring-closing upon photoirradiation and electrochemical oxidation. Optimized geometries, potential energy surfaces, and activation energies between the open-ring and closed-ring forms were calculated for diarylethenes in the neutral ground state, excited states, and mono- and dicationic states. Analysis of the frontier orbitals was employed to understand the cyclization and cycloreversion of diarylethenes and to predict and explain the switching properties of diarylethene-capped sexithiophene molecular wires. The TDDFT data were verified with experimentally measured UV/vis spectra. The DFT calculations estimated open-shell ground states of diarylethene-capped sexithiophene dications, which were verified with EPR spectroscopy, and the broadening of the peaks in the EPR spectra were explained with the calculated singlet−triplet splitting. The good agreement of experiment and theory allows for the understanding of switching behavior of diarylethenes in solutions, in metal break junctions, in monolayers on metal surfaces, and as a part of complex organic molecular wires.

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“…Electrostatic gating permits control of electron transport through a molecule by shifting its energy levels [4][5][6][7]. Mechanical adjustability, using scanning probes [8][9][10][11] or mechanically-controlled break junctions [12][13][14][15], enables manipulation of the device structure and the strength of bonding to electrodes. Here we report the implementation of both electrostatic gating and mechanical adjustability within the same single-molecule device.…”

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Mechanically Adjustable and Electrically Gated Single-Molecule Transistors

2005

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We demonstrate a device geometry for single-molecule electronics experiments that combines both the ability to adjust the spacing between the electrodes mechanically and the ability to shift the energy levels in the molecule using a gate electrode. With the independent in-situ variations of molecular properties provided by these two experimental "knobs", we are able to achieve a much more detailed characterization of electron transport through the molecule than is possible with either technique separately. We illustrate the devices' performance using C 60 molecules.

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Conductance of a Molecular Junction

Cited by 3,371 publications

References 25 publications

From Au–Thiolate Chains to Thioether Sierpiński Triangles: The Versatile Surface Chemistry of 1,3,5-Tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene on Au(111)

From Au–Thiolate Chains to Thioether Sierpiński Triangles: The Versatile Surface Chemistry of 1,3,5-Tris(4-mercaptophenyl)benzene on Au(111)

Electrochemical and Photochemical Cyclization and Cycloreversion of Diarylethenes and Diarylethene-Capped Sexithiophene Wires

Mechanically Adjustable and Electrically Gated Single-Molecule Transistors

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