The charge transport mechanism of a wire can be revealed by how its electrical resistance varies with length. We have measured the resistance and current-voltage characteristics of conjugated molecular wires ranging in length from 1 to 7 nanometers, connected between metal electrodes. We observe the theoretically predicted change in direct-current transport from tunneling to hopping as a function of systematically controlled wire length. We also demonstrate that site-specific disruption of conjugation in the wires greatly increases resistance in the hopping regime but has only a small effect in the tunneling regime. These nanoscale transport measurements elucidate the role of molecular length and bond architecture on molecular conductivity and open opportunities for greater understanding of electrical transport in conjugated polymer films.

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The tunneling resistance and electronic structure of metal-molecule-metal junctions based on oligoacene (benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene) thiol and dithiol molecules were measured and correlated using conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) in conjunction with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Nanoscopic tunnel junctions (~10 nm(2)) were formed by contacting oligoacene self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on flat Ag, Au, or Pt substrates with metalized AFM tips (Ag, Au, or Pt). The low bias (<0.2 V) junction resistance (R) increased exponentially with molecular length (s), i.e., R = R(0) exp(βs), where R(0) is the contact resistance and β is the tunneling attenuation factor. The R(0) values for oligoacene dithiols were 2 orders of magnitude less than those of oligoacene thiols. Likewise, the β value was 0.5 per ring (0.2 Å(-1)) for the dithiol series and 1.0 per ring (0.5 Å(-1)) for the monothiol series, demonstrating that β is not simply a characteristic of the molecular backbone but is strongly affected by the number of chemical (metal-S) contacts. R(0) decreased strongly as the contact work function (Φ) increased for both monothiol and dithiol junctions, whereas β was independent of Φ within error. This divergent behavior was explained in terms of the metal-S bond dipoles and the electronic structure of the junction; namely, β is independent of contact type because of weak Fermi level pinning (UPS revealed E(F) - E(HOMO) varied only weakly with Φ), but R(0) varies strongly with contact type because of the strong metal-S bond dipoles that are responsible for the Fermi level pinning. A previously published triple barrier model for molecular junctions was invoked to rationalize these results in which R(0) is determined by the contact barriers, which are proportional to the size of the interfacial bond dipoles, and β is determined by the bridge barrier, E(F) - E(HOMO). Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics obtained over a larger voltage range 0-1 V revealed a characteristic transition voltage V(trans) at which the current increased more sharply with voltage. V(trans) values were generally >0.5 V and were well correlated with the bridge barrier E(F) - E(HOMO). Overall, the combination of electronic structure determination by UPS with length- and work function-dependent transport measurements provides a remarkably comprehensive picture of tunneling transport in molecular junctions based on oligoacenes.

We report the electrical transport characteristics of conjugated oligonaphthalenefluoreneimine (ONI) wires having systematically varied lengths up to 10 nm. Using aryl imine addition chemistry, ONI wires were built from gold substrates by extending the conjugation length through imine linkages between highly conjugated building blocks of alternating naphthalenes and fluorenes. The resistance and current-voltage characteristics of ONI wires were measured as a function of molecular length, temperature, and electric field using conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM). We have observed a transition in direct current (DC) transport from tunneling to hopping near 4 nm as previously established for oligophenyleneimine (OPI) wires. Furthermore, we have found that long ONI wires are less resistive than OPI wires. The single-wire conductivity of ONI wires is approximately 1.8 +/- 0.1 x 10(-4) S/cm, a factor of approximately 2 greater than that of OPI wires, and consistent with the lower transport activation energy ( approximately 0.58 eV versus 0.65 eV or 13 versus 15 kcal/mol). Quantum chemical calculations reveal that charge is preferentially localized on the fluorene subunits and that the molecules are substantially twisted. Overall, this work confirms that imine addition chemistry can be used to build molecular wires long enough to probe the hopping transport regime. The versatility of this chemistry, in combination with CP-AFM, opens up substantial opportunities to probe the physical organic chemistry of hopping conduction in long conjugated molecules.