Robert W. French

Nanomechanical electron shuttle consisting of a gold nanoparticle embedded within the gap between two gold electrodes

Nanomechanical shuttles transferring small groups of electrons or even individual electrons from one electrode to another offer a novel approach to the problem of controlled charge transport. Here, we report the fabrication of shuttle-junctions consisting of a 20 nm diameter gold nanoparticle embedded within the gap between two gold electrodes. The nanoparticle is attached to the electrodes through a monolayer of flexible organic molecules which play the role of springs so that when a sufficient voltage bias is applied, then nanoparticle starts to oscillate transferring electrons from one electrode to the other. Current-voltage characteristics for the fabricated devices have been measured and compared with the results of our computer simulations.

Liquid-liquid ion transport junctions based on paired gold electrodes in generator-collector mode.

Simultaneous electrochemically driven double anion transfer across liquid–liquid interfaces is demonstrated at a gold–gold junction electrode. In the presence of two closely spaced electrodes (generator and collector), anion uptake into the organic phase (oxidation) and anion expulsion into the aqueous phase (reduction) can be combined to result in a generator–collector anion transport system across the liquid–liquid interface. In this report we are employing a paired gold junction grown by electro‐deposition to ca. 5 μm gap size with the N,N‐diethyl‐N′,N′‐didodecyl‐phenylene‐diamine water immiscible redox liquid immobilized into the gap to demonstrate simultaneous perchlorate anion uptake and expulsion. The effects of redox liquid volume and scan rate on the magnitude of currents and two mechanistic pathways for ion transport are discussed in the context of micro‐electrophoretic processes.