Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry

0484608 - ÚFCH JH 2019 RIV US eng M - Monography Chapter
Hromadová, Magdaléna - Kolivoška, Viliam
Studying the Electrical Properties of Single Molecules by Break Junction Techniques.
Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry. 1st Edition. New York: Elsevier, 2018 - (Wandelt, K.), s. 271-280. ISBN 978-0-12-809894-3
Institutional support: RVO:61388955
Keywords : electrical properties * single molecules break junction techniques
OECD category: Physical chemistry

Molecular electronics aims at use of molecules as the working components (wires, diodes, transistors, and logic and memory
elements) of the future electronic devices. It represents an alternative to the solid-state semiconductor technologies, which will
soon reach their miniaturization limits. Naturally, studies of electrical properties of molecules at the single molecule level represent
the cornerstone in the development of molecular electronic devices. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) by
Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer (Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986) and of the atomic force microscope (AFM) by Gerd Binnig,
Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber enabled to overcome the experimental barrier for direct visualization of individual molecules
and promoted the evaluation of their properties at the single molecule level.
Molecular electronic components typically consist of a backbone capped by two termini-anchors to provide contact with
two electrodes. Examples of anchoring groups include thiol, pyridine, nitrile, amine, or fullerene. Passive components
(molecular wires and resistors) possess no functionality in the backbone. Active ones, such as molecular diodes or
switches, contain additional moiety that provides desired functionality. Current rectification in molecular diodes may be
for example attained by an asymmetric arrangement of side groups with a different inductive effect. Molecular switches
contain a moiety with two chemically stable states. These states are switched by an external trigger such as illumination
(photoswitches), local environment (pH and ligand-driven switches), pressure (mechanical switches), or electrode potential
(redox switches).
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0279772