Metal Complexes and Clusters in Single‐Molecule Electronics

Abstract

Single‐molecule electronics has evolved significantly in the past two decades. The first studies that focussed on simple, wire‐like organic compounds have been useful to establish the mechanism of charge transport, but the chemical complexity of the molecular component has been rapidly increased to allow the fabrication of functional devices such as switches and transistors. Organometallic compounds feature prominently in molecular electronics because as they offer, for instance, a straightforward way to impart redox activity and to control on the HOMO–LUMO gap, but they can also be used to study and exploit phenomena unique to the nanoscale world, such as quantum interference and Coulomb blockade effects. This article will present progress in the use of mono‐ and polynuclear (cluster) organometallic molecular wires in single‐molecule junctions, highlighting the breakthrough studies that advanced our understanding of nanoscale charge transport phenomena.