Electronic conduction through organic molecules

Enhancing Gating Performance in Organic Molecular Field-Effect Transistors by Introducing Polar Azulene Components

Organic molecular field-effect transistors (FETs) are promising building components for future electronic circuits. Efficient control of charge transport properties is one key issue in the design of organic molecular FETs. In this study, we propose a redesign of a naphthalene-based FET by introducing two azulene components in opposite dipole moment directions. Using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green's function, the simulated electronic transport characteristics reveal that the introduction of polar azulene components effectively narrows the frontier molecular orbitals gap, leading to an increase in the ON-state current. Meanwhile, the OFF-state current is significantly suppressed by highly localizing the dominant electronic transport channel. As a result, improved gate controllability is achieved with a higher ON-OFF current ratio, which is nearly seven times higher than that of the naphthalene-based FET device. These findings provide theoretical directions for future design of organic molecular FET devices with enhanced gating regulation efficiency.

A Dynamically Weighted Constrained Complete Active Space Ansatz for Constructing Multiple Potential Energy Surfaces within the Anderson-Holstein Model

We derive and implement the necessary equations for solving a dynamically weighted, state-averaged constrained CASSCF(2,2) wave function describing a molecule on a metal surface, where we constrain the overlap between two active orbitals and the impurity atomic orbitals to be a finite number. We show that a partial constraint is far more robust than a full constraint. We further calculate the system-bath electronic couplings that arise because, near a metal, there is a continuum (rather than discrete) number of electronic states. This approach should be very useful for simulating heterogeneous electron transfer and electrochemical dynamics going forward.

Nonadiabatic Potential Energy Surfaces for a Molecule on a Surface as Found by Constrained Complete Active Space Theory

In order to study electron-transfer mediated chemical processes on a metal surface, one requires not one but two potential energy surfaces (one ground state and one excited state) as in Marcus theory. In this letter, we report that a novel, dynamically weighted, state-averaged constrained CASSCF(2,2) (DW-SA-cCASSCF(2,2)) can produce such surfaces for the Anderson impurity model. Both ground and excited state potentials are smooth, they incorporate states with a charge transfer character, and the accuracy of the ground state surface can be verified for some model problems by renormalization group theory. Future development of gradients and nonadiabatic derivative couplings should allow for the study of nonadiabatic dynamics for molecules near metal surfaces.

Effects of Inorganic Substitutions and Different Metal Electrode Materials on Electronic Transport Properties of Organic Molecular Devices

Incorporating inorganic components into organic molecular devices offers one novel alternative to address challenges existing in the fabrication and integration of nanoscale devices. In this study, using a theoretical method of density functional theory combined with the nonequilibrium Green's function, a series of benzene-based molecules with group III and V substitutions, including borazine molecule and X_nB_3-nN₃H₆ (X = Al or Ga, n = 1-3) molecules/clusters, are constructed and investigated. An analysis of electronic structures reveals that the introduction of inorganic components effectively reduces the energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, albeit at the cost of reduced aromaticity in these molecules/clusters. Simulated electronic transport characteristics demonstrate that X_nB_3-nN₃H₆ molecules/clusters coupled between metal electrodes exhibit lower conductance compared to prototypical benzene molecule. Additionally, the choice of metal electrode materials significantly impacts the electronic transport properties, with platinum electrode devices displaying distinct behavior compared to silver, copper, and gold electrode devices. This distinction arises from the amount of transferred charge, which modulates the alignment between molecular orbitals and the Fermi level of the metal electrodes by shifting the molecular orbitals in energy. These findings provide valuable theoretical insights for the future design of molecular devices incorporating inorganic substitutions.

1,4-Dithiolbenzene, 1,4-dimethanediolbenzene and 4-thioacetylbiphenyl molecular systems: electronic devices with possible applications in molecular electronics

A theoretical study of the electronic transport properties of the 1,4-dithiolbenzene, 1,4-dimethanediolbenzene and 4-thioacetylbiphenyl molecules coupled to two metal contacts is carried out.

Understanding Keesom Interactions in Monolayer-Based Large-Area Tunneling Junctions

Charge transport across self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) has been widely studied. Discrepancies of charge tunneling data that arise from various studies, however, call for efforts to develop new statistical analytical approaches to understand charge tunneling across SAMs. Structure-property studies on charge tunneling across SAM-based junctions have largely been through comparison of average tunneling rates and associated variance. These early moments (especially the average) are dominated by barrier width-a static property of the junction. In this work, we show that analysis of higher statistical moments (skewness and kurtosis) reveals the dynamic nature of the tunnel junction. Intramolecular Keesom (dipole-dipole) interactions dynamically fluctuate with bias as dictated by stereoelectronic limitations. Analyzing variance in the distribution of tunneling data instead of the first statistical moment (average), for a series of n-alkanethiols containing internal amide and aromatic terminal groups, we observe that the direction of dipole moments affects molecule-electrode coupling. An applied bias induces changes in the tunneling probability, affecting the distribution of tunneling paths in large-area molecular junctions.

Understanding interface (odd–even) effects in charge tunneling using a polished EGaIn electrode

Charge transport across large area molecular tunneling junctions is widely studied due to its potential in the development of quantum electronic devices.

Self-Assembled Array of Tethered Manganese Oxide Nanoparticles for the Next Generation of Energy Storage

Many challenges must be overcome in order to create reliable electrochemical energy storage devices with not only high energy but also high power densities. Gaps exist in both battery and supercapacitor technologies, with neither one satisfying the need for both large power and energy densities in a single device. To begin addressing these challenges (and others), we report a process to create a self-assembled array of electrochemically active nanoparticles bound directly to a current collector using extremely short (2 nm or less) conductive tethers. The tethered array of nanoparticles, MnO in this case, bound directly to a gold current collector via short conducting linkages eliminates the need for fillers, resulting in a material which achieves 99.9% active material by mass (excluding the current collector). This strategy is expected to be both scalable as well as effective for alternative tethers and metal oxide nanoparticles.

Energy-filtered Electron Transport Structures for Low-power Low-noise 2-D Electronics

In addition to cryogenic techniques, energy filtering has the potential to achieve high-performance low-noise 2-D electronic systems. Assemblies based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been demonstrated to exhibit interesting transport properties, including resonant tunnelling. In this paper, we investigate GQDs based structures with the goal of producing energy filters for next generation lower-power lower-noise 2-D electronic systems. We evaluate the electron transport properties of the proposed GQD device structures to demonstrate electron energy filtering and the ability to control the position and magnitude of the energy passband by appropriate device dimensioning. We also show that the signal-to-thermal noise ratio performance of the proposed nanoscale device can be modified according to device geometry. The tunability of two-dimensional GQD structures indicates a promising route for the design of electron energy filters to produce low-power and low-noise electronics.

Nanoparticle characterization based on STM and STS

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) can characterize intriguing nanoparticle properties towards solid-state nanodevices.

Molecular design of electron transport with orbital rule: toward conductance-decay free molecular junctions

In this study, we report our viewpoint of single molecular conductance in terms of frontier orbitals.

Towards single molecule switches

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) controlled reversible switching of a single-dipole molecule imbedded in hydrogen-bonded binary molecular networks on graphite.

An orbital rule for electron transport in molecules

The transfer of electrons in molecules and solids is an essential process both in biological systems and in electronic devices. Devices that take advantage of the unique electronic properties of a single molecule have attracted much attention, and applications of these devices include molecular wire, molecular memory, and molecular diodes. The so-called Landauer formula with Green's function techniques provides a basis for theoretical calculations of coherent electron transport in metal-molecule-metal junctions. We have developed a chemical way of thinking about electron transport in molecules in terms of frontier orbital theory. The phase and amplitude of the HOMO and LUMO of π-conjugated molecules determine the essential properties of their electron transport. By considering a close relationship between Green's function and the molecular orbital, we derived an orbital rule that would help our chemical understanding of the phenomenon. First, the sign of the product of the orbital coefficients at sites r and s in the HOMO should be different from the sign of the product of the orbital coefficients at sites r and s in the LUMO. Second, sites r and s in which the amplitude of the HOMO and LUMO is large should be connected. The derived rule allows us to predict essential electron transport properties, which significantly depend on the route of connection between a molecule and electrodes. Qualitative analyses of the site-dependent electron transport in naphthalene (as shown in the graphics) demonstrate that connections 1-4, 1-5, 2-3, and 2-6 are symmetry-allowed for electron transmission, while connections 1-8 and 2-7 are symmetry-forbidden. On the basis of orbital interaction analysis, we have extended this rule to metal-molecule-metal junctions of dithiol derivatives in which two gold electrodes have direct contacts with a molecule through two Au-S bonds. Recently we confirmed these theoretical predictions experimentally by using nanofabricated mechanically controllable break junctions to measure the single-molecule conductance of naphthalene dithiol derivatives. The measurement of the symmetry-allowed 1,4-naphthalene dithiol shows a single-molecule conductance that exceeds that of the symmetry-forbidden 2,7-naphthalene dithiol by 2 orders of magnitude. Because the HOMO and LUMO levels and the HOMO-LUMO gaps are similar in the derivatives, the difference in the measured molecular conductances arises from the difference in the phase relationship of the frontier orbitals. Thus, the phase, amplitude, and spatial distribution of the frontier orbitals provide a way to rationally control electron transport properties within and between molecules.

QUANTUM TRANSPORT AND CURRENT-TRIGGERED DYNAMICS IN MOLECULAR TUNNEL JUNCTIONS

The modelling of nanoelectronic systems has been the topic of ever increasing activity for nearly two decades. Yet, new questions, challenges and opportunities continue to emerge. In this article we review theoretical and numerical work on two new developments in the theory of molecular-scale electronics. First we review a density functional theory analysis within the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green function formalism to predict nonlinear charge transport properties of nanoelectronic devices. Next we review a recently developed quantum mechanical formalism of current-triggered nuclear dynamics. Finally we combine these theories to describe from first principles the inelastic current and the consequent molecular dynamics in molecular heterojunctions.

Single molecule logical devices

After almost 40 years of development, molecular electronics has given birth to many exciting ideas that range from molecular wires to molecular qubit-based quantum computers. This chapter reviews our efforts to answer a simple question: how smart can a single molecule be? In our case a molecule able to perform a simple Boolean function is a child prodigy. Following the Aviram and Ratner approach, these molecules are inserted between several conducting electrodes. The electronic conduction of the resulting molecular junction is extremely sensitive to the chemical nature of the molecule. Therefore designing this latter correctly allows the implementation of a given function inside the molecular junction. Throughout the chapter different approaches are reviewed, from hybrid devices to quantum molecular logic gates. We particularly stress that one can implement an entire logic circuit in a single molecule, using either classical-like intramolecular connections, or a deformation of the molecular orbitals induced by a conformational change of the molecule. These approaches are radically different from the hybrid-device approach, where several molecules are connected together to build the circuit.

Detailed analysis of water structure in a solvent mediated electron tunneling mechanism

This work aims at describing the water structure characteristics that influence the electron transfer superexchange mechanism by explicitly calculating the solvent mediated conductance between the donor and acceptor in a generic pair. The method employed here is based on the non-equilibrium Green function formalism for calculating the conductance over solvent trajectories previously determined by molecular dynamics methods. A non-exponential dependence of the conductance is observed with respect to the distance between the donor and the acceptor. Local fluctuations of the solvent structure are responsible for the non-monotonic dependence, mainly due to the formation of solvent bridges that act as a molecular wire connecting the sites. This shortcutting phenomenon is observed for certain ranges of distances between the donor and acceptor in the pair. Charge on the sites strongly affects the local solvent structure and causes qualitative changes in the distance dependence of the tunneling probability.

The diversity of electron-transport behaviors of molecular junctions: correlation with the electron-transport pathway

We report the electron-transport behaviors of a number of molecular junctions composed of pi-conjugated molecular wires. From calculations performed by using density functional theory (DFT) combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method, we found that the length-conductivity relations are diverse, depending on the particular molecular structures. The results reveal that the conductance-length dependence follows an exponential law for many conjugated molecules with a single channel, such as oligothiophene, oligopyrrole and oligophenylene. Therefore, a quantitative relation between the energy gap (E(g))(infinity) of the molecular wire and the attenuation factor beta can be defined. However, when the molecular wires have multichannels, the decay of conductance does not follow the exponential relation. For example, the conductance of porphyrin-based oligomers and fused thiophene decays almost linearly. The diversity of electron-transport behaviors of molecular junctions is directly dominated by the electron-transport pathway.

Interpretation of transition voltage spectroscopy

The promise of transition voltage spectroscopy (TVS) is that molecular level positions can be determined in molecular devices without applying extreme voltages. Here, we consider the physics behind TVS in more detail. Remarkably, we find that the Simmons model employed thus far is inconsistent with experimental data. However, a coherent molecular transport model does justify TVS as a spectroscopic tool. Moreover, TVS may become a critical test to distinguish molecular junctions from vacuum tunnel junctions.

Transport properties of a biphenyl-based molecular junction system-the electrode metal dependence

We investigate the transport properties of a biphenyl-dithiol molecule sandwiched between electrodes made of metal Y (Y = Cu, Ag and Au) using the non-equilibrium Green's function method based on a density functional theory. The electrode metal Y has an influence on the coupling between the molecule and electrodes, and thus on the transmission peak height. For the transmission T(Y) at the Fermi energy, we obtain T(Cu)∼T(Ag)<T(Au). As a result, the current value at low bias voltage for the junction system with Ag or Cu electrodes is smaller than that for Y = Au. At high bias voltage, on the other hand, the current value of an Ag electrode system becomes larger than the others due to the higher transmission peak around -1.5 eV below the Fermi energy. Besides this, it is shown that the transmission peak value for all the electrode metals can be expressed generally as a function of a ratio of the coupling between the two phenyl rings to the peak width of the projected density of states with respect to a corresponding molecular orbital.

Molecular modeling of inelastic electron transport in molecular junctions

A quantum chemical approach for the modeling of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of molecular junctions based on scattering theory is presented. Within a harmonic approximation, the proposed method allows us to calculate the electron-vibration coupling strength analytically, which makes it applicable to many different systems. The calculated inelastic electron transport spectra are often in very good agreement with their experimental counterparts, allowing the revelation of detailed information about molecular conformations inside the junction, molecule-metal contact structures, and intermolecular interaction that is largely inaccessible experimentally.

Length-dependent conductance of molecular wires and contact resistance in metal-molecule-metal junctions

Molecular wires are covalently bonded to gold electrodes--to form metal-molecule-metal junctions--by functionalizing each end with a -SH group. The conductance of a wide variety of molecular junctions is studied theoretically by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) combined with the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. Based on the chain-length-dependent conductance of the series of molecular wires, the attenuation factor beta is obtained and compared with the experimental data. The beta value is quantitatively correlated to the molecular HOMO-LUMO gap. Coupling between the metallic electrode and the molecular bridge plays an important role in electron transport. A contact resistance of 6.0+/-2.0 Kohms is obtained by extrapolating the molecular-bridge length to zero. This value is of the same magnitude as the quantum resistance.

Electron transport in open systems from finite-size calculations: Examination of the principal layer method applied to linear gold chains

We describe the occurrence of computational artifacts when the principal layer method is used in combination with the cluster approximation for the calculation of electronic transport properties of nanostructures. For a one-dimensional gold chain, we observe an unphysical band in the band structure. The artificial band persists for large principal layers and for large buffer sizes. We demonstrate that the assumption of equality between Hamiltonian elements of neighboring layers is no longer valid and that a discontinuity is introduced in the potential at the layer transition. The effect depends on the basis set. When periodic boundary conditions are imposed and the k-space sampling is converged, the discontinuity disappears and the principal layer method can be correctly applied by using a linear combination of atomic orbitals as basis set.

ELECTRON TRANSPORT THROUGH MULTILEVEL QUANTUM DOT

Quantum transport properties through some multilevel quantum dots sandwiched between two metallic contacts are investigated by the use of Green's function technique. Here, we do parametric calculations, based on the tight-binding model, to study the transport properties through such bridge systems. The electron transport properties are significantly influenced by (a) the number of quantized energy levels in the dots, (b) the dot-to-electrodes coupling strength, (c) the location of the equilibrium Fermi energy E F , and (d) the surface disorder. In the limit of weak-coupling, the conductance (g) shows sharp resonance peaks associated with the quantized energy levels in the dots, while, they get substantial broadening in the strong-coupling limit. The behavior of the electron transfer through these systems becomes much more clearly visible from our study of the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics. In this context, we also describe the noise power of current fluctuations (S) and determine the Fano factor (F) which provides an important information about the electron correlation among the charge carriers. Finally, we explore a novel transport phenomenon by studying the surface disorder effect in which the current amplitude increases with the increase of the surface disorder strength in the strong disorder regime, while, the amplitude decreases in the limit of weak disorder. Such an anomalous behavior is completely opposite to that of bulk disordered system where the current amplitude always decreases with the disorder strength. It is also observed that the current amplitude strongly depends on the system size which reveals the finite quantum size effect.