Resonant tunnelling through a C₆₀molecular junction in a liquid environment

Abstract

Abstract.We present electronic transport measurements through thiolated C 60 molecules in liquid environment. The molecules were placed within a mechanically controllable break junction using a single anchoring group per molecule. When varying the electrode separation of the C 60 -modified junctions, we observed a peak in the conductance traces. The shape of the curves is strongly influenced by the environment of the junction as shown by measurements in two distinct solvents. In the framework of a simple resonant tunneling model, we can extract the electronic tunneling rates governing the transport properties of the junctions.

Current–voltage characteristics of single-molecule diarylethene junctions measured with adjustable gold electrodes in solution

“…1, contacted by adjustable Au electrodes (Fig. 1) in a MCBJ system operating at room temperature in a liquid environment [33,35–36]. The chemical synthesis together with their photochemical properties as analyzed by NMR and UV–vis measurements of TSC and 4Py, have been reported in [30].…”

Molecular Junctions: From Tunneling to Function

“…We have been exploiting this technique extensively over the past years to determine some of the basic mechanisms at stake in the formation of molecular junctions. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Some examples are provided in the next section.…”

Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

“…[15][16][17][18][19] Over the past decade, such charge transport measurements through single molecules have been conducted with metallic break junctions formed by means of scanning probe or nanolithography techniques; with scanning tunnelling microscopy being an example for the former and mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) for the latter. Both break junction techniques can be operated at room temperature, although research on the role of environmental variables such as solvent interactions and electrochemical gating has not received the same level of attention for the MCBJ approach [20][21][22][23][24] compared to the STM method. [25][26][27][28] Measurements in polar solvents give rise to faradaic leakage currents which may exceed the conductance of the molecule of interest; hence, the electrodes must be sufficiently insulated to reduce this parasitic current ideally below the noise level.…”