Precise tuning of single molecule conductance in an electrochemical environment

Peng, Lizeng; Chen, F.; Hong, Ze-Wen; Zheng, Jianbin; Fillaud, Laure; Ye, Ying; Huang, Miao-Ling; Shao, Yong; Zhou, Xiao‐Shun; Chen, J.-Z.; Maisonhaute, Emmanuel

doi:10.1039/c8nr00625c

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The latter overcomes the technical difficulties in introducing the gate electrode in the former, yet the energy range reachable by electrochemical gating might be limited by the electrochemical window of electrolyte. Additionally, tuning of single molecular conductance can also be realized by adjusting the salt concentration in solution. , In a very recent paper from the group of Tao, the electrochemical gating was reported to study the QI effect of single molecule junctions of three phenyl rings with iodine as anchoring groups on a scanning tunneling microscopy break junction (STM-BJ) platform . Monotonous change of conductance was indeed observed for the meta -substituted benzene molecule, but the sharp-valleyed feature of conductance change of destructive QI effect was not clearly seen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling and Observing Sharp-Valleyed Quantum Interference Effect in Single Molecular Junctions

et al. 2018

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The ability to control over the quantum interference (QI) effect in single molecular junctions is attractive in the application of molecular electronics. Herein we report that the QI effect of meta-benzene based molecule with dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene as the anchoring group (meta-BT) can be controlled by manipulating the electrode potential of the junctions in electrolyte while the redox state of the molecule does not change. More than 2 orders of magnitude conductance change is observed for meta-BT ranging from <10 −6.0 to 10 −3.3 G 0 with varying the electrode potential, while the upper value is even larger than the conductance of para-BT (para-benzene based molecule with anchoring group of dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene). This phenomenon is attributed to the shifting of energy level alignment between the molecule and electrodes under electrode potential control. Calculation is carried out to predict the transmission function of single molecular junction and the work function of Au surface in the presence of the molecule, and good agreement is found between theory and experiments, both showing sharpvalley featured destructive QI effect for the meta-BT. The present work demonstrates that the QI effect can be tuned through electrochemical gating without change of molecular redox states, which provides a feasible way toward realization of effective molecular switches.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling and Observing Sharp-Valleyed Quantum Interference Effect in Single Molecular Junctions

et al. 2018

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“…Fabricating single-molecule devices has been the ultimate goal of electronic device minimization since Aviram and Ratner proposed a prototype molecular rectifier in 1974. − Benefiting from the development of the single-molecule break junction technique, numerous investigations have successfully constructed and explored metal–molecule–metal junctions over the past two decades. − To date, electron transport through single molecules could be tuned under external stimulus, such as electricity, , light, − and pH. − Among them, electrochemical modulation provides a promising method for manipulating the energy alignment between molecular frontier orbitals and Fermi level of metal electrodes. ,− Significant results, such as redox-enhanced tunneling, ,− molecule structure transforms, and quantum interference , via electrochemical gating, have been reported. In order to realize functionally electronic components like a single-molecule switch or transistor, much effort has been devoted to improving gating efficiency of conductance within the limited gate potential range, but it remains an outstanding challenge.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced Gating Performance of Single-Molecule Conductance by Heterocyclic Molecules

Wang

Feng

et al. 2021

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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Enhancing the gating performance of single-molecule conductance is significant for realizing molecular transistors. Herein, we report a new strategy to improve the electrochemical gating efficiency of single-molecule conductance with fused molecular structures consisting of heterocyclic rings of furan, thiophene, or selenophene. One order magnitude of gating ratio is achieved within a potential window of 1.2 V for the selenophene-based molecule, which is significantly greater than that of other heterocyclic and benzene ring molecules. This is caused by the different electronic structures of heterocyclic molecules and transmission coefficients T(E), and preliminary resonance tunneling is achieved through the highest occupied molecular orbital at high potential. The current work experimentally shows that electrochemical gating performance can be significantly modulated by the alignment of the conducting orbital of the heterocyclic molecule relative to the metal Fermi energy.

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“…In order to prove this hypothesis, we carried out the conductance measurement of 1,3-BDCA with only carbonyl anchoring group. The carbonyl anchoring group can bind to Cu electrode through one oxygen atom [30, 45]. Figure 5 shows the conductance histogram of 1,3-BDCA with obvious peak located around 10 –3.65 G 0 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling Contact Configuration of Carboxylic Acid-Based Molecular Junctions Through Side Group

Huang

Tao

et al. 2019

Nanoscale Res Lett

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In this paper, the contact configuration of single molecular junction is controlled through side group, which is explored by electrochemical jump-to-contact STM break junction. The conductance values of 2-methoxy-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid (2-M-1,3-BDC) is around 10 –3.65 G 0 , which is different from that of 5-methoxy-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid (5-M-1,3-BDC) with 10 –3.20 G 0 . Interestingly, the conductance value of 2-M-1,3-BDC is the same as that of 1,3-benzenedicarboxaldehyde (1,3-BDCA), while single molecular junctions of 5-M-1,3-BDC and 1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid (1,3-BDC) give out similar conductance value. Since 1,3-BDCA binds to the Cu electrode through one oxygen atom, the dominated contact configuration for 1,3-BDC is through two oxygen atoms. The different conductance values between 2-M-1,3-BDC and 5-M-1,3-BDC can be attributed to the different contact configurations caused by the position of the side group. The current work provides a feasible way to control the contact configuration between the anchoring group and the electrode, which may be useful in designing future molecular electronics.

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Precise tuning of single molecule conductance in an electrochemical environment

Cited by 15 publications

References 46 publications

Controlling and Observing Sharp-Valleyed Quantum Interference Effect in Single Molecular Junctions

Controlling and Observing Sharp-Valleyed Quantum Interference Effect in Single Molecular Junctions

Enhanced Gating Performance of Single-Molecule Conductance by Heterocyclic Molecules

Controlling Contact Configuration of Carboxylic Acid-Based Molecular Junctions Through Side Group

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