Yajing Li

Voltage tuning of vibrational mode energies in single-molecule junctions

Significance Like guitar strings, molecules have characteristic vibrational frequencies, set by the strength of chemical bonding between the atoms. In an experiment using a special antenna for light, we have found that applying an electrical voltage to a single buckyball molecule systematically lowers its vibrational frequencies, indicating that the bonds are weakened. We can explain this observation in terms of a very simple, general model in which the applied voltage slightly increases the amount of negative charge on the molecule, thus tuning the chemical bond strength. This may be generally useful in understanding and controlling the mechanical properties of molecules. Vibrational modes of molecules are fundamental properties determined by intramolecular bonding, atomic masses, and molecular geometry, and often serve as important channels for dissipation in nanoscale processes. Although single-molecule junctions have been used to manipulate electronic structure and related functional properties of molecules, electrical control of vibrational mode energies has remained elusive. Here we use simultaneous transport and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy measurements to demonstrate large, reversible, voltage-driven shifts of vibrational mode energies of C60 molecules in gold junctions. C60 mode energies are found to vary approximately quadratically with bias, but in a manner inconsistent with a simple vibrational Stark effect. Our theoretical model instead suggests that the mode shifts are a signature of bias-driven addition of electronic charge to the molecule. These results imply that voltage-controlled tuning of vibrational modes is a general phenomenon at metal–molecule interfaces and is a means of achieving significant shifts in vibrational energies relative to a pure Stark effect.

Interplay of Bias-Driven Charging and the Vibrational Stark Effect in Molecular Junctions

We observe large, reversible, bias driven changes in the vibrational energies of PCBM based on simultaneous transport and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements on PCBM-gold junctions. A combination of linear and quadratic shifts in vibrational energies with voltage is analyzed and compared with similar measurements involving C60-gold junctions. A theoretical model based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggests that both a vibrational Stark effect and bias-induced charging of the junction contribute to the shifts in vibrational energies. In the PCBM case, a linear vibrational Stark effect is observed due to the permanent electric dipole moment of PCBM. The vibrational Stark shifts shown here for PCBM junctions are comparable to or larger than the charging effects that dominate in C60 junctions.