Long-Range Charge Transport in Diazonium-Based Single-Molecule Junctions.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32786941.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c03000.
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Abstract
Thin layers of cobalt and ruthenium polypyridyl-oligomers with thicknesses between 2 and 8 nm were deposited on gold by electrochemical reduction of diazonium salts. A scanning tunneling microscope was used to create single-molecule junctions (SMJs). The charge transport properties of the Au-[Co(tpy)<sub>2</sub>]<sub><i>n</i></sub>-Au (<i>n</i> = 1-4) SMJs do not depend markedly on the oligomer length, have an extremely low attenuation factor (β ∼ 0.19 nm<sup>-1</sup>), and do not show a thickness-dependent transition between two mechanisms. Resonant charge transport is proposed as the main transport mechanism. The SMJ conductance decreases by 1 order of magnitude upon changing the metal from Co to Ru. In Au-[Ru(tpy)<sub>2</sub>]<sub><i>n</i></sub>-Au and Au-[Ru(bpy)<sub>3</sub>]<sub><i>n</i></sub>-Au SMJs, a charge transport transition from direct tunneling to hopping is evidenced by a break in the length-dependent β-plot. The three different mechanisms observed are a clear molecular signature on transport in SMJs. Most importantly, these results are in good agreement with those obtained on large-area molecular junctions.