The use of single molecules in electronics represents the next limit of miniaturisation of electronic devices, which would enable us to continue the trend of aggressive downscaling of silicon-based electronic devices. More significantly, the fabrication, understanding and control of fully functional circuits at the single-molecule level could also open up the possibility of using molecules as devices with novel, not-foreseen functionalities beyond complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology (CMOS). This review aims at highlighting the chemical design and synthesis of single molecule devices as well as their electrical and structural characterization, including a historical overview and the developments during the last 5 years. We discuss experimental techniques for fabrication of single-molecule junctions, the potential application of single-molecule junctions as molecular switches, and general physical phenomena in single-molecule electronic devices.

The ultimate aim of molecular electronics is to understand and master single-molecule devices. Based on the latest results on electron transport in single molecules in solid-state devices, we focus here on new insights into the influence of metal electrodes on the energy spectrum of the molecule, and on how the electron transport properties of the molecule depend on the strength of the electronic coupling between it and the electrodes. A variety of phenomena are observed depending on whether this coupling is weak, intermediate or strong.

Solar power production and solar energy storage are important research areas for development of technologies that can facilitate a transition to a future society independent of fossil fuel based energy sources. Devices for direct conversion of solar photons suffer from poor efficiencies due to spectrum losses, which are caused by energy mismatch between the optical absorption of the devices and the broadband irradiation provided by the sun. In this context, photon-upconversion technologies are becoming increasingly interesting since they might offer an efficient way of converting low energy solar energy photons into higher energy photons, ideal for solar power production and solar energy storage. This perspective discusses recent progress in triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) photon-upconversion systems and devices for solar energy applications. Furthermore, challenges with evaluation of the efficiency of TTA-photon-upconversion systems are discussed and a general approach for evaluation and comparison of existing systems is suggested.

This review delineates the developments in triplet–triplet annihilation based NIR to Vis molecular photon upconversion including recent progress in conceptual design, applications, existing challenges, possible future directions and opportunities.