Brian Capozzi

Single-molecule diodes with high rectification ratios through environmental control.

Molecular electronics aims to miniaturize electronic devices by using subnanometre-scale active components. A single-molecule diode, a circuit element that directs current flow, was first proposed more than 40 years ago and consisted of an asymmetric molecule comprising a donor-bridge-acceptor architecture to mimic a semiconductor p-n junction. Several single-molecule diodes have since been realized in junctions featuring asymmetric molecular backbones, molecule-electrode linkers or electrode materials. Despite these advances, molecular diodes have had limited potential for applications due to their low conductance, low rectification ratios, extreme sensitivity to the junction structure and high operating voltages. Here, we demonstrate a powerful approach to induce current rectification in symmetric single-molecule junctions using two electrodes of the same metal, but breaking symmetry by exposing considerably different electrode areas to an ionic solution. This allows us to control the junctions electrostatic environment in an asymmetric fashion by simply changing the bias polarity. With this method, we reliably and reproducibly achieve rectification ratios in excess of 200 at voltages as low as 370 mV using a symmetric oligomer of thiophene-1,1-dioxide. By taking advantage of the changes in the junction environment induced by the presence of an ionic solution, this method provides a general route for tuning nonlinear nanoscale device phenomena, which could potentially be applied in systems beyond single-molecule junctions.

Breakdown of interference rules in azulene, a nonalternant hydrocarbon.

We have designed and synthesized five azulene derivatives containing gold-binding groups at different points of connectivity within the azulene core to probe the effects of quantum interference through single-molecule conductance measurements. We compare conducting paths through the 5-membered ring, 7-membered ring, and across the long axis of azulene. We find that changing the points of connectivity in the azulene impacts the optical properties (as determined from UV-vis absorption spectra) and the conductivity. Importantly, we show here that simple models cannot be used to predict quantum interference characteristics of nonalternant hydrocarbons. As an exemplary case, we show that azulene derivatives that are predicted to exhibit destructive interference based on widely accepted atom-counting models show a significant conductance at low biases. Although simple models to predict the low-bias conductance do not hold with all azulene derivatives, we demonstrate that the measured conductance trend for all molecules studied actually agrees with predictions based on the more complete GW calculations for model systems.

Length-dependent conductance of oligothiophenes.

We have measured the single-molecule conductance of a family of oligothiophenes comprising 1-6 thiophene moieties terminated with methyl-sulfide linkers using the scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique. We find an anomalous behavior: the peak of the conductance histogram distribution does not follow a clear exponential decay with increasing number of thiophene units in the chain. The electronic properties of the materials were characterized by optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry to gain an understanding of the factors affecting the conductance of these molecules. We postulate that different conformers in the junction are a contributing factor to the anomalous trend in the observed conductance as a function of molecule length.

Molecular length dictates the nature of charge carriers in single-molecule junctions of oxidized oligothiophenes

To develop advanced materials for electronic devices, it is of utmost importance to design organic building blocks with tunable functionality and to study their properties at the molecular level. For organic electronic and photovoltaic applications, the ability to vary the nature of charge carriers and so create either electron donors or acceptors is critical. Here we demonstrate that charge carriers in single-molecule junctions can be tuned within a family of molecules that contain electron-deficient thiophene-1,1-dioxide (TDO) building blocks. Oligomers of TDO were designed to increase electron affinity and maintain delocalized frontier orbitals while significantly decreasing the transport gap. Through thermopower measurements we show that the dominant charge carriers change from holes to electrons as the number of TDO units is increased. This results in a unique system in which the charge carrier depends on the backbone length, and provides a new means to tune p- and n-type transport in organic materials.

Tunable charge transport in single-molecule junctions via electrolytic gating.

We modulate the conductance of electrochemically inactive molecules in single-molecule junctions using an electrolytic gate to controllably tune the energy level alignment of the system. Molecular junctions that conduct through their highest occupied molecular orbital show a decrease in conductance when applying a positive electrochemical potential, and those that conduct though their lowest unoccupied molecular orbital show the opposite trend. We fit the experimentally measured conductance data as a function of gate voltage with a Lorentzian function and find the fitting parameters to be in quantitative agreement with self-energy corrected density functional theory calculations of transmission probability across single-molecule junctions. This work shows that electrochemical gating can directly modulate the alignment of the conducting orbital relative to the metal Fermi energy, thereby changing the junction transport properties.

Impact of molecular symmetry on single-molecule conductance.

We have measured the single-molecule conductance of a family of bithiophene derivatives terminated with methyl sulfide gold-binding linkers using a scanning tunneling microscope based break-junction technique. We find a broad distribution in the single-molecule conductance of bithiophene compared with that of a methyl sulfide terminated biphenyl. Using a combination of experiments and calculations, we show that this increased breadth in the conductance distribution is explained by the difference in 5-fold symmetry of thiophene rings as compared to the 6-fold symmetry of benzene rings. The reduced symmetry of thiophene rings results in a restriction on the torsion angle space available to these molecules when bound between two metal electrodes in a junction, causing each molecular junction to sample a different set of conformers in the conductance measurements. In contrast, the rotations of biphenyl are essentially unimpeded by junction binding, allowing each molecular junction to sample similar conformers. This work demonstrates that the conductance of bithiophene displays a strong dependence on the conformational fluctuations accessible within a given junction configuration, and that the symmetry of such small molecules can significantly influence their conductance behaviors.

Mapping the Transmission Functions of Single-Molecule Junctions

Charge transport phenomena in single-molecule junctions are often dominated by tunneling, with a transmission function dictating the probability that electrons or holes tunnel through the junction. Here, we present a new and simple technique for measuring the transmission functions of molecular junctions in the coherent tunneling limit, over an energy range of 1.5 eV around the Fermi energy. We create molecular junctions in an ionic environment with electrodes having different exposed areas, which results in the formation of electric double layers of dissimilar density on the two electrodes. This allows us to electrostatically shift the molecular resonance relative to the junction Fermi levels in a manner that depends on the sign of the applied bias, enabling us to map out the junctions transmission function and determine the dominant orbital for charge transport in the molecular junction. We demonstrate this technique using two groups of molecules: one group having molecular resonance energies relatively far from EF and one group having molecular resonance energies within the accessible bias window. Our results compare well with previous electrochemical gating data and with transmission functions computed from first principles. Furthermore, with the second group of molecules, we are able to examine the behavior of a molecular junction as a resonance shifts into the bias window. This work provides a new, experimentally simple route for exploring the fundamentals of charge transport at the nanoscale.

Electronic transport and mechanical stability of carboxyl linked single-molecule junctions

We characterize electron transport across Au-molecule-Au junctions of heterogeneous carboxyl and methyl sulfide terminated saturated and conjugated molecules. Low-bias conductance measurements are performed using the scanning tunneling microscopy based break-junction technique in the presence of solvents and at room temperature. For a series of alkanes with 1-4 carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain, our results show an exponential decrease in conductance with increasing molecule length characterized by a decay constant of 0.9 ± 0.1 per methylene group. Control measurements in pH 11 solutions and with COOMe terminations suggest that the carboxylic acid group binds through the formation of a COO(-)-Au bond. Simultaneous measurements of conductance and force across these junctions yield a rupture force of 0.6 ± 0.1 nN, comparable to that required to rupture a Au-SMe bond. By establishing reliable, in situ junction formation, these experiments provide a new approach to probe electronic properties of carboxyl groups at the single molecule level.

Molecular electronics under the microscope

The field of molecular electronics has developed significantly as experimental techniques to study charge transport through single molecules have become more reliable. Three Articles in this issue highlight how chemists can now better understand and control electronic properties at the molecular level.