1
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Chen Y, Bâldea I, Yu Y, Liang Z, Li MD, Koren E, Xie Z. CP-AFM Molecular Tunnel Junctions with Alkyl Backbones Anchored Using Alkynyl and Thiol Groups: Microscopically Different Despite Phenomenological Similarity. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:4410-4423. [PMID: 38348971 PMCID: PMC10906003 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
In this paper, we report results on the electronic structure and transport properties of molecular junctions fabricated via conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of n-alkyl chains anchored with acetylene groups (CnA; n = 8, 9, 10, and 12) on Ag, Au, and Pt electrodes. We found that the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of CnA CP-AFM junctions can be very accurately reproduced by the same off-resonant single-level model (orSLM) successfully utilized previously for many other junctions. We demonstrate that important insight into the energy-level alignment can be gained from experimental data of transport (processed via the orSLM) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy combined with ab initio quantum chemical information based on the many-body outer valence Green's function method. Measured conductance GAg < GAu < GPt is found to follow the same ordering as the metal work function ΦAu < ΦAu < ΦPt, a fact that points toward a transport mediated by an occupied molecular orbital (MO). Still, careful data analysis surprisingly revealed that transport is not dominated by the ubiquitous HOMO but rather by the HOMO-1. This is an important difference from other molecular tunnel junctions with p-type HOMO-mediated conduction investigated in the past, including the alkyl thiols (CnT) to which we refer in view of some similarities. Furthermore, unlike in CnT and other junctions anchored with thiol groups investigated in the past, the AFM tip causes in CnA an additional MO shift, whose independence of size (n) rules out significant image charge effects. Along with the prevalence of the HOMO-1 over the HOMO, the impact of the "second" (tip) electrode on the energy level alignment is another important finding that makes the CnA and CnT junctions different. What ultimately makes CnA unique at the microscopic level is a salient difference never reported previously, namely, that CnA's alkyne functional group gives rise to two energetically close (HOMO and HOMO-1) orbitals. This distinguishes the present CnA from the CnT, whose HOMO stemming from its thiol group is well separated energetically from the other MOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhong Chen
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory
of Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion (MATEC), Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Ioan Bâldea
- Theoretical
Chemistry, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yongxin Yu
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory
of Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion (MATEC), Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Zining Liang
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory
of Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion (MATEC), Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Ming-De Li
- Department
of Chemistry and Key Laboratory for Preparation and Application of
Ordered Structural Materials of Guangdong Province, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
| | - Elad Koren
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
| | - Zuoti Xie
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory
of Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion (MATEC), Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
- Quantum
Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong), Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Science and Technology
Park, No. 3 Binglang
Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518048, China
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2
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Lawson B, Skipper HE, Kamenetska M. Phenol is a pH-activated linker to gold: a single molecule conductance study. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:2022-2029. [PMID: 38197186 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr05257e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Single molecule conductance measurements typically rely on functional linker groups to anchor the molecule to the conductive electrodes through a donor-acceptor or covalent bond. While many linking moieties, such as thiols, amines, thiothers and phosphines have been used among others, very few involve oxygen binding directly to gold electrodes. Here, we report successful single molecule conductance measurements using hydroxy (OH)-containing phenol linkers and show that the molecule-gold attachment and electron transport are mediated by a direct O-Au bond. We find that deprotonation of the hydroxy moiety is necessary for metal-molecule binding to proceed, so that junction formation can be activated through pH control. Electronic structure and DFT+Σ transport calculations confirm our experimental findings that phenolate-terminated alkanes can anchor on the gold and show charge transport trends consistent with prior observations of alkane conductance with other linker groups. Critically, the deprotonated O--Au binding shows features similar to the thiolate-Au bond, but without the junction disruption caused by intercalation of sulfur into electrode tips often observed with thiol-terminated molecules. By comparing the conductance and binding features of O-Au and S-Au bonds, this study provides insight into the aspects of Au-linker bonding that promote reproducible and robust single molecule junction measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent Lawson
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA.
| | - Hannah E Skipper
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA
| | - Maria Kamenetska
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA
- Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA
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3
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Skipper HE, Lawson B, Pan X, Degtiareva V, Kamenetska M. Manipulating Quantum Interference between σ and π Orbitals in Single-Molecule Junctions via Chemical Substitution and Environmental Control. ACS NANO 2023; 17:16107-16114. [PMID: 37540771 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c04963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Understanding and manipulating quantum interference (QI) effects in single molecule junction conductance can enable the design of molecular-scale devices. Here we demonstrate QI between σ and π molecular orbitals in an ∼4 Å molecule, pyrazine, bridging source and drain electrodes. Using single molecule conductance measurements, first-principles analysis, and electronic transport calculations, we show that this phenomenon leads to distinct patterns of electron transport in nanoscale junctions, such as destructive interference through the para position of a six-membered ring. These QI effects can be tuned to allow conductance switching using environmental pH control. Our work lays out a conceptual framework for engineering QI features in short molecular systems through synthetic and external manipulation that tunes the energies and symmetries of the σ and π channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah E Skipper
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Brent Lawson
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Xiaoyun Pan
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Vera Degtiareva
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Maria Kamenetska
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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4
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Tong L, Yu Z, Gao YJ, Li XC, Zheng JF, Shao Y, Wang YH, Zhou XS. Local cation-tuned reversible single-molecule switch in electric double layer. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3397. [PMID: 37296181 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39206-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The nature of molecule-electrode interface is critical for the integration of atomically precise molecules as functional components into circuits. Herein, we demonstrate that the electric field localized metal cations in outer Helmholtz plane can modulate interfacial Au-carboxyl contacts, realizing a reversible single-molecule switch. STM break junction and I-V measurements show the electrochemical gating of aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids have a conductance ON/OFF behavior in electrolyte solution containing metal cations (i.e., Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+), compared to almost no change in conductance without metal cations. In situ Raman spectra reveal strong molecular carboxyl-metal cation coordination at the negatively charged electrode surface, hindering the formation of molecular junctions for electron tunnelling. This work validates the critical role of localized cations in the electric double layer to regulate electron transport at the single-molecule level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Tong
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Zhou Yu
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Yi-Jing Gao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
- Zhejiang Engineering Laboratory for Green Syntheses and Applications of Fluorine-Containing Specialty Chemicals, Institute of Advanced Fluorine-Containing Materials, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Xiao-Chong Li
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Ju-Fang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Yong Shao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China
| | - Ya-Hao Wang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China.
| | - Xiao-Shun Zhou
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, China.
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5
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Gu MW, Chen CH. Effects of Electrode Materials on Electron Transport for Single-Molecule Junctions. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087277. [PMID: 37108439 PMCID: PMC10139062 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The contact at the molecule-electrode interface is a key component for a range of molecule-based devices involving electron transport. An electrode-molecule-electrode configuration is a prototypical testbed for quantitatively studying the underlying physical chemistry. Rather than the molecular side of the interface, this review focuses on examples of electrode materials in the literature. The basic concepts and relevant experimental techniques are introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mong-Wen Gu
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Hsien Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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6
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Alshehab A, Ismael AK. Impact of the terminal end-group on the electrical conductance in alkane linear chains. RSC Adv 2023; 13:5869-5873. [PMID: 36816091 PMCID: PMC9936266 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra00019b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
This research presents comprehensive theoretical investigations of a series of alkane-based chains using four different terminal end groups including amine -NH2, thiomethyl -SMe, thiol -SH and direct carbon contact -C. It is widely known that the electrical conductance of single molecules can be tuned and boosted by chemically varying their terminal groups to metal electrodes. Here, we demonstrate how different terminal groups affect alkane molecules' electrical conductance. In general, alkane chain conductance decreases exponentially with length, regardless of the anchor group types. In these simulations the molecular length varies from 3 to 8 -CH2 units, with 4 different linker groups; these simulations suggest that the conductances follow the order G C > G SH > G SMe > G NH2 . The DFT prediction order of the 4 anchors is well supported by STM measurements. This work demonstrates an excellent correlation between our simulations and experimental measurements, namely: the percent difference ΔG, exponential decay slopes, A constants and β factors at different molecular alkane chain lengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah Alshehab
- Physics Department, College of Science, King Faisal UniversityAl AhsaSaudi Arabia
| | - Ali K. Ismael
- Department of Physics, Lancaster UniversityLancaster LA1 4YBUK
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7
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Fallaque JG, Rodríguez-González S, Martín F, Díaz C. Self-energy corrected DFT-NEGF for conductance in molecular junctions: an accurate and efficient implementation for TRANSIESTA package applied to Au electrodes. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:435901. [PMID: 35970178 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac89c4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In view of the development and the importance that the studies of conductance through molecular junctions is acquiring, robust, reliable and easy-to-use theoretical tools are the most required. Here, we present an efficient implementation of the self-energy correction to density functional theory non-equilibrium Green functions method for TRANSIESTA package. We have assessed the validity of our implementation using as benchmark systems a family of acene complexes with increasing number of aromatic rings and several anchoring groups. Our theoretical results show an excellent agreement with experimentally available measurements assuring the robustness and accuracy of our implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel G Fallaque
- Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanociencia), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Química, Módulo 13, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Sandra Rodríguez-González
- Departamento de Química Física Aplicada, Módulo 14, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Fernando Martín
- Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanociencia), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Química, Módulo 13, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
- Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Díaz
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de CC Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
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8
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Hu Y, Zhou Y, Ye J, Yuan S, Xiao Z, Shi J, Yang Y, Solomon GC, Hong W. σ-dominated charge transport in sub-nanometer molecular junctions. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fmre.2022.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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9
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Lv SL, Zeng C, Yu Z, Zheng JF, Wang YH, Shao Y, Zhou XS. Recent Advances in Single-Molecule Sensors Based on STM Break Junction Measurements. BIOSENSORS 2022; 12:bios12080565. [PMID: 35892462 PMCID: PMC9329744 DOI: 10.3390/bios12080565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Single-molecule recognition and detection with the highest resolution measurement has been one of the ultimate goals in science and engineering. Break junction techniques, originally developed to measure single-molecule conductance, recently have also been proven to have the capacity for the label-free exploration of single-molecule physics and chemistry, which paves a new way for single-molecule detection with high temporal resolution. In this review, we outline the primary advances and potential of the STM break junction technique for qualitative identification and quantitative detection at a single-molecule level. The principles of operation of these single-molecule electrical sensing mainly in three regimes, ion, environmental pH and genetic material detection, are summarized. It clearly proves that the single-molecule electrical measurements with break junction techniques show a promising perspective for designing a simple, label-free and nondestructive electrical sensor with ultrahigh sensitivity and excellent selectivity.
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10
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Tao S, Zhang Q, Vezzoli A, Zhao C, Zhao C, Higgins SJ, Smogunov A, Dappe YJ, Nichols RJ, Yang L. Electrochemical gating for single-molecule electronics with hybrid Au|graphene contacts. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:6836-6844. [PMID: 35244656 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp05486d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The single-molecular conductance of a redox active viologen molecular bridge between Au|graphene electrodes has been studied in an electrochemical gating configuration in an ionic liquid medium. A clear "off-on-off" conductance switching behaviour has been achieved through gating of the redox state when the electrochemical potential is swept. The Au|viologen|graphene junctions show single-molecule conductance maxima centred close to the equilibrium redox potentials for both reduction steps. The peak conductance of Au|viologen|graphene junctions during the first reduction is significantly higher than that of previously measured Au|viologen|Au junctions. This shows that even though the central viologen moiety is not directly linked to the enclosing electrodes, substituting one gold contact for a graphene one nevertheless has a significant impact on junction conductance values. The experimental data was compared against two theoretical models, namely a phase coherent tunnelling and an incoherent "hopping" model. The former is a simple gating monoelectronic model within density functional theory (DFT) which discloses the charge state evolution of the molecule with electrode potential. The latter model is the collective Kuznetsov Ulstrup model for 2-step sequential charge transport through the redox centre in the adiabatic limit. The comparison of both models to the experimental data is discussed for the first time. This work opens perspectives for graphene-based molecular transistors with more effective gating and fundamental understanding of electrochemical electron transfer at the single molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuhui Tao
- Department of Chemistry, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
| | - Qian Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
| | - Andrea Vezzoli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
| | - Cezhou Zhao
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Chun Zhao
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Simon J Higgins
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
| | - Alexander Smogunov
- SPEC, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Yannick J Dappe
- SPEC, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Richard J Nichols
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
| | - Li Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZD, UK
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11
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Zhu Y, Tan Z, Hong W. Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Characterization of Single-Molecule Junctions Using AFM-BJ Technique. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:30873-30888. [PMID: 34841131 PMCID: PMC8613807 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The fabrication and characterization of single-molecule junctions provide a unique platform to study the physical phenomena of a single molecule, and the electrical characterization enables us to understand the electrical transport properties of a single molecule and guide the fabrication of molecular electronic devices. However, the electrical characterization of single-molecule junctions is sometimes insufficient to extract the structural information on single-molecule junctions, and an alternate method to address this problem is to characterize the mechanical properties of single-molecule junctions. Simultaneous measurement of mechanical and electrical properties can provide complementary information on single molecules to analyze the correlations of their electrical and mechanical properties in the evolution of single-molecule junctions. In this mini-review, we summarize the progress on the simultaneous characterizations of mechanical and electrical properties for single-molecule junctions, and discuss the challenges and perspectives of this research area.
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12
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Skipper HE, May CV, Rheingold AL, Doerrer LH, Kamenetska M. Hard-Soft Chemistry Design Principles for Predictive Assembly of Single Molecule-Metal Junctions. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:16439-16447. [PMID: 34582679 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The achievement of atomic control over the organic-inorganic interface is key to engineering electronic and spintronic properties of molecular devices. We leverage insights from inorganic chemistry to create hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) theory-derived design principles for incorporation of single molecules onto metal electrodes. A single molecule circuit is assembled via a bond between an organic backbone and an under-coordinated metal atom of the electrode surface, typically Au. Here, we study molecular composition factors affecting the junction assembly of coordination complexes containing transition metals atoms on Au electrodes. We employ hetero- and homobimetallic lantern complexes and systematically change the coordination environment to vary the character of the intramolecular bonds relative to the electrode-molecule interaction. We observe that trends in the robustness and chemical selectivity of single molecule junctions formed with a range of linkers correlate with HSAB principles, which have traditionally been used to guide atomic arrangements in the synthesis of coordination complexes. We find that this similarity between the intermolecular electrode-molecule bonding in a molecular circuit and the intramolecular bonds within a coordination complex has implications for the design of metal-containing complexes compatible with electrical measurements on metal electrodes. Our results here show that HSAB principles determine which intramolecular interactions can be compromised by inter molecule-electrode coordination; in particular on Au electrodes, soft-soft metal-ligand bonding is vulnerable to competition from soft-soft Au-linker bonding in the junction. Neutral donor-acceptor intramolecular bonds can be tuned by the Lewis acidity of the transition metal ion, suggesting future synthetic routes toward incorporation of transition metal atoms into molecular junctions for increased functionality of single molecule devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah E Skipper
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Claire V May
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Arnold L Rheingold
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0332, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Linda H Doerrer
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.,Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Maria Kamenetska
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.,Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.,Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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13
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Huang M, Zhou Q, Liang F, Yu L, Xiao B, Li Y, Zhang M, Chen Y, He J, Xiao S, Chang S. Detecting Individual Bond Switching within Amides in a Tunneling Junction. NANO LETTERS 2021; 21:5409-5414. [PMID: 34124909 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Amides are essential in the chemistry of life. Detecting the chemical bond states within amides could unravel the nature of amide stabilization and planarity, which is critical to the structure and reactivity of such molecules. Yet, so far, no work has been reported to detect or measure the bond changes at the single-molecule level within amides. Here, we show that a transition between single and double bonds between N and C atoms in an amide can be monitored in real time in a nanogap between gold electrodes via the generation of distinctive conductance features. Density functional theory simulations show that the switching between amide isomers proceeds via a proton transfer process facilitated by a water molecule bridge, and the resulting molecular junctions display bimodal conductance states with a difference as much as nine times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Huang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
- Department of Physics, Biomolecular Science Institute, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Qinghai Zhou
- The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry, Joint International Research Laboratory of Resource Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Feng Liang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
| | - Lei Yu
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
| | - Bohuai Xiao
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
| | - Yunchuan Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
| | - Mingyang Zhang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
| | - Yan Chen
- The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry, Joint International Research Laboratory of Resource Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Jin He
- Department of Physics, Biomolecular Science Institute, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Shengxiong Xiao
- The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry, Joint International Research Laboratory of Resource Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Shuai Chang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China
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14
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Gu MW, Peng HH, Chen IWP, Chen CH. Tuning surface d bands with bimetallic electrodes to facilitate electron transport across molecular junctions. NATURE MATERIALS 2021; 20:658-664. [PMID: 33510446 DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-00876-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Understanding chemical bonding and conductivity at the electrode-molecule interface is key for the operation of single-molecule junctions. Here we apply the d-band theory that describes interfacial interactions between adsorbates and transition metal surfaces to study electron transport across these devices. We realized bimetallic Au electrodes modified with a monoatomic Ag adlayer to connect α,ω-alkanoic acids (HO2C(CH2)nCO2H). The force required to break the molecule-electrode binding and the contact conductance Gn=0 are 1.1 nN and 0.29 G0 (the conductance quantum, 1 G0 = 2e2/h ≈ 77.5 μS), which makes these junctions, respectively, 1.3-1.8 times stronger and 40-60-fold more conductive than junctions with bare Au or Ag electrodes. A similar performance was found for Au electrodes modified by Cu monolayers. By integrating the Newns-Anderson model with the Hammer-Nørskov d-band model, we explain how the surface d bands strengthen the adsorption and promote interfacial electron transport, which provides an alternative avenue for the optimization of molecular electronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mong-Wen Gu
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hao Howard Peng
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - I-Wen Peter Chen
- Department of Applied Science, National Taitung University, Taitung, Taiwan.
| | - Chun-Hsien Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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15
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Tao CP, Jiang CC, Wang YH, Zheng JF, Shao Y, Zhou XS. Single-Molecule Sensing of Interfacial Acid-Base Chemistry. J Phys Chem Lett 2020; 11:10023-10028. [PMID: 33179941 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Bronsted acid and base interactions are a cornerstone of chemistry describing a wide range of chemical phenomena. However, probing such interaction at the solid-liquid interface to extract the elementary and intrinsic information at a single-molecule level remains a big challenge. Herein, we employ an STM break junction (STM-BJ) technique to investigate the acid-base chemistry of carboxylic acid-based molecules at a Au (111) model surface and propose a prototype of a single-molecule pH sensor for the first time. The single-molecule measurements in different environmental conditions verify that the formation probability of molecular junctions is determined by the populations of deprotonated -COO- form in a self-assembled monolayer. Furthermore, the variation of the intensity of the conductance peaks (i.e., junction-forming probability) with the pH of the bulk solution fits well to the Henderson-Hasselbalch type equation. From the equation, a good linear relation is found between the degree of dissociation of the immobilized -COOH group and the environmental pH, providing a feasible way to design chemicals and biosensors and a detector at the single-molecule scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cai-Ping Tao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Chen-Chen Jiang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Ya-Hao Wang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Ju-Fang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Yong Shao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Xiao-Shun Zhou
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
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16
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Wang B, Gao M, Uosaki K, Taketsugu T. A quantum chemical study of substituent effects on CN bonds in aryl isocyanide molecules adsorbed on the Pt surface. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:12200-12208. [PMID: 32427247 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp00760a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A periodicity implemented scheme of natural bond orbital (NBO) theory and normal mode analysis has been employed to investigate the tendency of the chemical bond strength of aryl isocyanide molecules with different para-substituted groups adsorbed on the Pt(111) surface. The NC bond order shows a clear correspondence with the NC stretching frequency; both of them exhibit a "volcano-like" profile as a function of the Hammett constant of the para-substituted groups for isolated molecules. When a molecule is adsorbed on the Pt(111) surface, the NC stretching frequency variations are determined by the resultant effect of σ donation and π back-donation between the molecule and the surface. The present comprehensive and systematic computations clarify the electron donating and withdrawing effects of the substituted groups on the interaction between the aryl isocyanide molecule and the transition metal substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Wang
- Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
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17
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Huang F, Li R, Wang G, Zheng J, Tang Y, Liu J, Yang Y, Yao Y, Shi J, Hong W. Automatic classification of single-molecule charge transport data with an unsupervised machine-learning algorithm. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:1674-1681. [PMID: 31895353 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04496e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Single-molecule electrical characterization reveals the events occurring at the nanoscale, which provides guidelines for molecular materials and devices. However, data analysis to extract valuable information from the nanoscale measurement data remained as a major challenge. Herein, an unsupervised deep leaning method, a deep auto-encoder K-means (DAK) algorithm, is developed to distinguish different events from single-molecule charge transport measurements. As validated by three single-molecule junction systems, the method applies to the recognition for multiple compounds with various events and offers an effective data analysis method to track reaction kinetics at the single-molecule scale. This work opens the possibility of using deep unsupervised approaches to studying the physical and chemical processes at the single-molecule level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Ruihao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Gan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Jueting Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Yongxiang Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Junyang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Yang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Yuan Yao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
| | - Jia Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Wenjing Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China.
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18
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Li D, Dappe YJ, Smogunov A. Tuning spin filtering by anchoring groups in benzene derivative molecular junctions. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2019; 31:405301. [PMID: 31181563 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ab2846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
One of the important issues of molecular spintronics is the control and manipulation of charge transport and, in particular, its spin polarization through single-molecule junctions. Using ab initio calculations, we explore spin-polarized electron transport across single benzene derivatives attached with six different anchoring groups (S, CH3S, COOH, CNH2NH, NC and NO2) to Ni(1 1 1) electrodes. We find that molecule-electrode coupling, conductance and spin polarization (SP) of electric current can be modified significantly by anchoring groups. In particular, a high spin polarization (SP > 80%) and a giant magnetoresistance (MR > 140%) can be achieved for NO2 terminations and, more interestingly, SP can be further enhanced (up to 90%) by a small voltage. The S and CH3S systems, on the contrary, exhibit rather low SP while intermediate values are found for COOH and CNH2NH groups. The results are analyzed in detail and explained by orbital symmetry arguments, hybridization and spatial localization of frontier molecular orbitals. We hope that our comparative and systematic studies will provide valuable quantitative information for future experimental measurements on that kind of systems and will be useful for designing high-performance spintronics devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongzhe Li
- Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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19
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Can One Define the Conductance of Amino Acids? Biomolecules 2019; 9:biom9100580. [PMID: 31591358 PMCID: PMC6843363 DOI: 10.3390/biom9100580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
We studied the electron-transport properties of ten different amino acids and one dimer (di-methionine) using the mechanically controlled break-junction (MCBJ) technique. For methionine and cysteine, additional measurements were performed with the scanning tunneling microscope break-junction (STM-BJ) technique. By means of a statistical clustering technique, we identified several conductance groups for each of the molecules considered. Ab initio calculations revealed that the observed broad conductance distribution stems from the possibility of various binding geometries which can be formed during stretching combined with a multitude of possible conformational changes. The results suggest that it would be helpful to explore different experimental techniques such as recognition tunneling and conditions to help identify the nature of amino-acid-based junctions even further, for example, with the goal to establish a firm platform for their unambiguous recognition by tunneling break-junction experiments.
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20
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Schosser WM, Zotti LA, Cuevas JC, Pauly F. Doping hepta-alanine with tryptophan: A theoretical study of its effect on the electrical conductance of peptide-based single-molecule junctions. J Chem Phys 2019; 150:174705. [PMID: 31067872 DOI: 10.1063/1.5090457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Motivated by a recent experiment [C. Guo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 113, 10785 (2016)], we carry out a theoretical study of electron transport through peptide-based single-molecule junctions. We analyze the pristine hepta-alanine and its functionalizations with a single tryptophan unit, which is placed in three different locations along the backbone. Contrary to expectations from the experiment on self-assembled monolayers, we find that insertion of tryptophan does not raise the electrical conductance and that the resulting peptides instead remain insulating in the framework of a coherent transport picture. The poor performance of these molecules as conductors can be ascribed to the strongly off-resonant transport and low electrode-molecule coupling of the frontier orbitals. Although the introduction of tryptophan increases the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the peptides in the gas phase, the new HOMO states are localized on the tryptophan unit and therefore essentially do not contribute to coherent charge transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Werner M Schosser
- Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Linda A Zotti
- Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Cuevas
- Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabian Pauly
- Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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21
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Hou S, Wu Q, Sadeghi H, Lambert CJ. Thermoelectric properties of oligoglycine molecular wires. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:3567-3573. [PMID: 30632577 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr08878k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the electrical and thermoelectrical properties of glycine chains with and without cysteine terminal groups. The electrical conductance of (Gly)n, (Gly)nCys and Cys(Gly)nCys molecules (where Gly, Cys represent glycine and cysteine and n = 1-3) was found to decay exponentially with length l as e-βl. Our results show that connecting the molecules to gold electrodes via the sulphur atom of the cysteine moiety leads to higher β factors of 1.57 Å-1 and 1.22 Å-1 for (Gly)nCys and Cys(Gly)nCys respectively, while β = 0.92 Å-1 for (Gly)n. We also find that replacing the peptide bond with a methylene group (-CH2-) increases the conductance of (Gly)3Cys. Furthermore, we find the (Gly)1Cys and Cys(Gly)1Cys systems show good thermoelectrical performance, because of their high Seebeck coefficients (∼0.2 mV K-1) induced by the sulphur of the cysteine(s). With the contributions of both electrons and phonons taken into consideration, a high figure of merit ZT = 0.8 is obtained for (Gly)1Cys at room temperature, which increases further with increasing temperature, suggesting that peptide-based SAM junctions are promising candidates for thermoelectric energy harvesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songjun Hou
- Quantum Technology Centre, Department of Physics, Lancaster University, LA1 4YB Lancaster, UK.
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22
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Zotti LA, Cuevas JC. Electron Transport Through Homopeptides: Are They Really Good Conductors? ACS OMEGA 2018; 3:3778-3785. [PMID: 31458620 PMCID: PMC6641635 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b01917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Motivated by recent experiments, we performed a theoretical study of electron transport through single-molecule junctions incorporating four kinds of homopeptides (based on alanine, glutamic acid, lysine, and tryptophan). Our results suggest that these molecules are rather insulating and operate in off-resonance tunneling as their main transport mechanism. We ascribe their poor performance as conductors to the high localization of their frontier orbitals. We found that binding scenarios in which side chains lie on the side of gold protuberances could give rise to an increase in conductance with respect to end-to-end binding configurations. These findings provide an insight into the conductance mechanism of the building blocks of proteins and identify key issues that need to be further investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda A. Zotti
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria
de Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Cuevas
- Departamento
de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria
de Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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23
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Brisendine JM, Refaely-Abramson S, Liu ZF, Cui J, Ng F, Neaton JB, Koder RL, Venkataraman L. Probing Charge Transport through Peptide Bonds. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:763-767. [PMID: 29376375 PMCID: PMC6420303 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
We measure the conductance of unmodified peptides at the single-molecule level using the scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction method, utilizing the N-terminal amine group and the C-terminal carboxyl group as gold metal-binding linkers. Our conductance measurements of oligoglycine and oligoalanine backbones do not rely on peptide side-chain linkers. We compare our results with alkanes terminated asymmetrically with an amine group on one end and a carboxyl group on the other to show that peptide bonds decrease the conductance of an otherwise saturated carbon chain. Using a newly developed first-principles approach, we attribute the decrease in conductance to charge localization at the peptide bond, which reduces the energy of the frontier orbitals relative to the Fermi energy and the electronic coupling to the leads, lowering the tunneling probability. Crucially, this manifests as an increase in conductance decay of peptide backbones with increasing length when compared with alkanes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Brisendine
- Graduate Programs of Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, and Department of Biochemistry, City College of New York , New York, New York 10031, United States
| | - Sivan Refaely-Abramson
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Zhen-Fei Liu
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jing Cui
- Department of Physics, Columbia University , New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Fay Ng
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University , New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Jeffrey B Neaton
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute at Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Ronald L Koder
- Graduate Programs of Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, and Department of Biochemistry, City College of New York , New York, New York 10031, United States
- Department of Physics, City College of New York , New York, New York 10031, United States
| | - Latha Venkataraman
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University , New York, New York 10027, United States
- Department of Applied Physics, Columbia University , New York, New York 10027, United States
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24
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Wang M, Wang Y, Sanvito S, Hou S. The low-bias conducting mechanism of single-molecule junctions constructed with methylsulfide linker groups and gold electrodes. J Chem Phys 2017; 147:054702. [PMID: 28789544 DOI: 10.1063/1.4996745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Minglang Wang
- Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yongfeng Wang
- Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beida Information Research (BIR), Tianjin 300457, China
| | - Stefano Sanvito
- School of Physics, AMBER and CRANN Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Shimin Hou
- Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beida Information Research (BIR), Tianjin 300457, China
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25
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Inkpen MS, Leroux YR, Hapiot P, Campos LM, Venkataraman L. Reversible on-surface wiring of resistive circuits. Chem Sci 2017; 8:4340-4346. [PMID: 28660061 PMCID: PMC5472029 DOI: 10.1039/c7sc00599g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Whilst most studies in single-molecule electronics involve components first synthesized ex situ, there is also great potential in exploiting chemical transformations to prepare devices in situ. Here, as a first step towards this goal, we conduct reversible reactions on monolayers to make and break covalent bonds between alkanes of different lengths, then measure the conductance of these molecules connected between electrodes using the scanning tunneling microscopy-based break junction (STM-BJ) method. In doing so, we develop the critical methodology required for assembling and disassembling surface-bound single-molecule circuits. We identify effective reaction conditions for surface-bound reagents, and importantly demonstrate that the electronic characteristics of wires created in situ agree with those created ex situ. Finally, we show that the STM-BJ technique is unique in its ability to definitively probe surface reaction yields both on a local (∼50 nm2) and pseudo-global (≥10 mm2) level. This investigation thus highlights a route to the construction and integration of more complex, and ultimately functional, surface-based single-molecule circuitry, as well as advancing a methodology that facilitates studies beyond the reach of traditional ex situ synthetic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Inkpen
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics , Columbia University , New York , NY 10027 , USA . ;
- Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (Equipe MaCSE) , CNRS , Université de Rennes 1 , Campus de Beaulieu, Bat 10C , Rennes Cedex , UMR 6226 , France
| | - Yann R Leroux
- Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (Equipe MaCSE) , CNRS , Université de Rennes 1 , Campus de Beaulieu, Bat 10C , Rennes Cedex , UMR 6226 , France
| | - Philippe Hapiot
- Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (Equipe MaCSE) , CNRS , Université de Rennes 1 , Campus de Beaulieu, Bat 10C , Rennes Cedex , UMR 6226 , France
| | - Luis M Campos
- Department of Chemistry , Columbia University , New York , NY 10027 , USA
| | - Latha Venkataraman
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics , Columbia University , New York , NY 10027 , USA . ;
- Department of Chemistry , Columbia University , New York , NY 10027 , USA
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26
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Advance of Mechanically Controllable Break Junction for Molecular Electronics. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2017; 375:61. [DOI: 10.1007/s41061-017-0149-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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27
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Li WQ, Huang B, Huang ML, Peng LL, Hong ZW, Zheng JF, Chen WB, Li JF, Zhou XS. Detecting Electron Transport of Amino Acids by Using Conductance Measurement. SENSORS 2017; 17:s17040811. [PMID: 28394265 PMCID: PMC5422172 DOI: 10.3390/s17040811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The single molecular conductance of amino acids was measured by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) break junction. Conductance measurement of alanine gives out two conductance values at 10−1.85 G0 (1095 nS) and 10−3.7 G0 (15.5 nS), while similar conductance values are also observed for aspartic acid and glutamic acid, which have one more carboxylic acid group compared with alanine. This may show that the backbone of NH2–C–COOH is the primary means of electron transport in the molecular junction of aspartic acid and glutamic acid. However, NH2–C–COOH is not the primary means of electron transport in the methionine junction, which may be caused by the strong interaction of the Au–SMe (methyl sulfide) bond for the methionine junction. The current work reveals the important role of the anchoring group in the electron transport in different amino acids junctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Qiong Li
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Bing Huang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Miao-Ling Huang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Lin-Lu Peng
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Ze-Wen Hong
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Ju-Fang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
| | - Wen-Bo Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 200090, China.
| | - Jian-Feng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Xiao-Shun Zhou
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
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29
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Kanthasamy K, Pfnür H. Conductance through single biphenyl molecules: symmetric and asymmetric coupling to electrodes. BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 2015; 6:1690-7. [PMID: 26425419 PMCID: PMC4578413 DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.6.171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The contacts and the chemical bonds formed between metallic electrodes and molecules determine to a large extent the conductive properties of single molecular junctions, which represent the smallest possible active elements in an electronic circuit. We therefore investigated in a comparative study, using the break junction technique (MCBJ), the conductive properties of [1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-dithiol (M1) and of 4'-mercapto-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile (M2) between gold electrodes. As a function of electrode separation, characterized by the conductance close to 0 V, we found several plateaus of relative stability, with those close to 0.01G0 being the most pronounced. The overall conductance of symmetric and asymmetric molecules were surprisingly similar, only the range of stability was smaller for M2. While M1 yielded symmetric I-V-curves, only small asymmetries were detected for M2. These are also reflected in the comparable values for coupling parameters using the single level resonance model. The high conductance for the asymmetric molecule is interpreted as a result of coherent coupling of electronic states through the whole molecule, so that the outcome cannot be predicted just by adding conductive properties of individual molecular groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthiga Kanthasamy
- Institut für Festkörperphysik, ATMOS, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Appelstr. 2, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Herbert Pfnür
- Institut für Festkörperphysik, ATMOS, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Appelstr. 2, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
- Laboratorium für Nano- und Quantenengineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Schneiderberg 30, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
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30
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Metzger
- Laboratory for Molecular
Electronics, Department of Chemistry, The University of Alabama, Box 870336, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0336, United States
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Leary E, La Rosa A, González MT, Rubio-Bollinger G, Agraït N, Martín N. Incorporating single molecules into electrical circuits. The role of the chemical anchoring group. Chem Soc Rev 2015; 44:920-42. [DOI: 10.1039/c4cs00264d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Constructing electronic circuits containing singly wired molecules is at the frontier of electrical device miniaturisation. Understanding the behaviour of different anchoring groups is key to this goal because of their significant role in determining the properties of the junction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund Leary
- IMDEA Nanociencia
- C/Faraday 9
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
- Depto. Física de la Materia Condensada Mod. 3-610 – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
| | - Andrea La Rosa
- Departamento de Química Orgánica
- Facultad de Ciencias Quıímicas
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid
- Madrid
- Spain
| | | | - Gabino Rubio-Bollinger
- Depto. Física de la Materia Condensada Mod. 3-610 – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
| | - Nicolás Agraït
- IMDEA Nanociencia
- C/Faraday 9
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
- Depto. Física de la Materia Condensada Mod. 3-610 – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
| | - Nazario Martín
- IMDEA Nanociencia
- C/Faraday 9
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
- Departamento de Química Orgánica
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Liao KC, Yoon HJ, Bowers CM, Simeone FC, Whitesides GM. Replacing AgTSSCH2-R with AgTSO2C-R in EGaIn-Based Tunneling Junctions Does Not Significantly Change Rates of Charge Transport. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014; 53:3889-93. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201308472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2013] [Revised: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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33
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Liao KC, Yoon HJ, Bowers CM, Simeone FC, Whitesides GM. Replacing AgTSSCH2-R with AgTSO2C-R in EGaIn-Based Tunneling Junctions Does Not Significantly Change Rates of Charge Transport. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201308472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Aradhya SV, Venkataraman L. Single-molecule junctions beyond electronic transport. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2013; 8:399-410. [PMID: 23736215 DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2013.91] [Citation(s) in RCA: 459] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2012] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The idea of using individual molecules as active electronic components provided the impetus to develop a variety of experimental platforms to probe their electronic transport properties. Among these, single-molecule junctions in a metal-molecule-metal motif have contributed significantly to our fundamental understanding of the principles required to realize molecular-scale electronic components from resistive wires to reversible switches. The success of these techniques and the growing interest of other disciplines in single-molecule-level characterization are prompting new approaches to investigate metal-molecule-metal junctions with multiple probes. Going beyond electronic transport characterization, these new studies are highlighting both the fundamental and applied aspects of mechanical, optical and thermoelectric properties at the atomic and molecular scales. Furthermore, experimental demonstrations of quantum interference and manipulation of electronic and nuclear spins in single-molecule circuits are heralding new device concepts with no classical analogues. In this Review, we present the emerging methods being used to interrogate multiple properties in single molecule-based devices, detail how these measurements have advanced our understanding of the structure-function relationships in molecular junctions, and discuss the potential for future research and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriharsha V Aradhya
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
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