Self-Assembly and Conductive Properties of Molecularly Linked Gold Nanowires

Abstract

A pseudo one-dimensional molecular electronic network consisting of segments of gold nanowires separated by 1−3 nm wide gaps and interconnected by thiol endcapped oligo(phenenylenevinylene)s (OPVs, 1.3 nm − 1.9 nm long) has been fabricated by lipid templated self-assembly. The electronic properties of the networks have been characterized in three situations in which: (i) only lipid molecules reside in the gap between gold wire segments or (ii) OPV molecules which are too short to bridge the gap or (iii) OPV molecules that are long enough to bridge the gap. The resulting network conductivity increases by 2−3 orders of magnitude with increasing covalent contact between OPV molecules and electrodes. An order of magnitude estimate of the low-bias conductance reveals G ≈ 50 nS for one OPV molecule which is long enough to covalently bind to both electrodes bridging the gap.

Formation and catalytic activity of spherical composites with surfaces coated with gold nanoparticles

“…Noble metal nanoparticles have been under increasing investigation as novel materials for the past few decades because of their unique optical, electronic, and catalytic properties and potential applications in chemical separation, sensing, and diagnosis and treatment of some cancers [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The unique properties of noble metal nanoparticles are directly related to their sizes and are significantly different from those of the corresponding bulk materials [7].…”

Controllable size, shape and morphology of molybdic acid self-aggregated with rhodamine B to construct functional material

“…Various shapes and morphologies including disks [8], nanorods [9,10], nanowires [11][12][13], networks [14][15][16], tubes [17][18][19], rings [20,21], etc., have been achieved in the past decade. Much research has been focused on the preparation and the properties of the architectures.…”

The conquest of middle-earth: combining top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication for constructing nanoparticle based devices

“…Following this strategy, Bjørnholm et al succeeded with the fabrication of pseudo one-dimensional molecular electronic networks, consisting of segments of AuNPs separated by 1-3 nm wide gaps and interconnected by conjugated organic molecules. 108 The networks were obtained by lipid templated self-assembly of AuNPs at the air-water interface. The Langmuir monolayer obtained was compressed and subsequently transferred horizontally (Langmuir-Schäfer) to a solid support with a prefabricated network of gold microelectrodes prepared by topdown UV/e-beam lithography.…”