Single-Molecule Conductance of Pyridine-Terminated Dithienylethene Switch Molecules

Tam, E. S.; Parks, J. J.; Shum, William W.; Zhong, Yu‐Wu; Santiago-Berríos, Mitk’El B.; Zheng, Xiao; Yang, Weitao; Chan, Garnet Kin‐Lic; Abruña, Héctor D.; Ralph, Daniel

doi:10.1021/nn201199b

Cited by 99 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The transmission for 1on t ( T ≈ 7 × 10 −4 ) is higher than for 2on t ( T ≈ 5 × 10 −5 to 2 × 10 − 4 ). Still, both values are higher than those observed for DAEs with shorter side‐arms and lower switching efficiency 15, 27. Apparently, decoupling of the excited states of the switching core by the OPE wires does not result in a reduced conductance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Light‐Induced Switching of Tunable Single‐Molecule Junctions

et al. 2015

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A major goal of molecular electronics is the development and implementation of devices such as single‐molecular switches. Here, measurements are presented that show the controlled in situ switching of diarylethene molecules from their nonconductive to conductive state in contact to gold nanoelectrodes via controlled light irradiation. Both the conductance and the quantum yield for switching of these molecules are within a range making the molecules suitable for actual devices. The conductance of the molecular junctions in the opened and closed states is characterized and the molecular level E 0, which dominates the current transport in the closed state, and its level broadening Γ are identified. The obtained results show a clear light‐induced ring forming isomerization of the single‐molecule junctions. Electron withdrawing side‐groups lead to a reduction of conductance, but do not influence the efficiency of the switching mechanism. Quantum chemical calculations of the light‐induced switching processes correlate these observations with the fundamentally different low‐lying electronic states of the opened and closed forms and their comparably small modification by electron‐withdrawing substituents. This full characterization of a molecular switch operated in a molecular junction is an important step toward the development of real molecular electronics devices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Light‐Induced Switching of Tunable Single‐Molecule Junctions

et al. 2015

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“…Ralph et al reported a singlemolecule switch with pyridine-terminated dithienylethene with conducting closed configuration and nonconducting open configuration. 411 The pyridine groups were used to link the molecules to gold electrodes to achieve relatively well-defined molecular contacts and stable conductance.…”

Section: Nanomechanical Molecular Switchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Single-molecule electronics: from chemical design to functional devices

et al. 2014

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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.

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“…As a result, many electro-active properties, such as rectification78, negative differential resistance910 and Coulomb blockade11, have been uncovered, indicative of their promising applications in functional electronic devices. Additionally, external stimuli, such as light1213141516, mechanical force1718, magnetic field1920, electrical field212223 and electrochemical potential2425262728, were introduced to modulate the molecular conductivity and thus to tune the properties of functional molecular devices, thereby significantly driving their development. As attested by the giant magnetoresistance effect2930 and photoelectric cooperation3132, a better synergy between such external stimuli and corresponding fabrication of multi-addressable MTJs may further efficiently advance the field of molecular electronics.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In addition to this photochromic property, we previously showed that such a ruthenium/DTE association can also perform electrochemical cyclization of the DTE unit in solution at low potential40, in contrast to organic systems4950. Therefore, since it has been successfully demonstrated that molecular conductance can be respectively tuned by light irradiation121314151644 or electrochemical potential2425262728, we were strongly motivated in the association of these two stimuli in a single electronic device to achieve orthogonally modulated MTJs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Orthogonally modulated molecular transport junctions for resettable electronic logic gates

et al. 2014

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Individual molecules have been demonstrated to exhibit promising applications as functional components in the fabrication of computing nanocircuits. Based on their advantage in chemical tailorability, many molecular devices with advanced electronic functions have been developed, which can be further modulated by the introduction of external stimuli. Here, orthogonally modulated molecular transport junctions are achieved via chemically fabricated nanogaps functionalized with dithienylethene units bearing organometallic ruthenium fragments. The addressable and stepwise control of molecular isomerization can be repeatedly and reversibly completed with a judicious use of the orthogonal optical and electrochemical stimuli to reach the controllable switching of conductivity between two distinct states. These photo-/electro-cooperative nanodevices can be applied as resettable electronic logic gates for Boolean computing, such as a two-input OR and a three-input AND-OR. The proof-of-concept of such logic gates demonstrates the possibility to develop multifunctional molecular devices by rational chemical design.

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Single-Molecule Conductance of Pyridine-Terminated Dithienylethene Switch Molecules

Cited by 99 publications

References 47 publications

Light‐Induced Switching of Tunable Single‐Molecule Junctions

Light‐Induced Switching of Tunable Single‐Molecule Junctions

Single-molecule electronics: from chemical design to functional devices

Orthogonally modulated molecular transport junctions for resettable electronic logic gates

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