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Pabi B, Marek Š, Pal A, Kumari P, Ray SJ, Thakur A, Korytár R, Pal AN. Resonant transport in a highly conducting single molecular junction via metal-metal covalent bond. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:12995-13008. [PMID: 37483089 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr02585c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Achieving highly transmitting molecular junctions through resonant transport at low bias is key to the next-generation low-power molecular devices. Although resonant transport in molecular junctions was observed by connecting a molecule between the metal electrodes via chemical anchors by applying a high source-drain bias (>1 V), the conductance was limited to <0.1G0, G0 being the quantum of conductance. Herein, we report electronic transport measurements by directly connecting a ferrocene molecule between Au electrodes under ambient conditions in a mechanically controllable break junction setup (MCBJ), revealing a conductance peak at ∼0.2G0 in the conductance histogram. A similar experiment was repeated for ferrocene terminated with amine (-NH2) and cyano (-CN) anchors, where conductance histograms exhibit an extended low conductance feature, including the sharp high conductance peak, similar to pristine ferrocene. The statistical analysis of the data and density functional theory-based transport calculation suggest a possible molecular conformation with a strong hybridization between the Au electrodes, and that the Fe atom of ferrocene is responsible for a near-perfect transmission in the vicinity of the Fermi energy, leading to the resonant transport at a small applied bias (<0.5 V). Moreover, calculations including van der Waals/dispersion corrections reveal a covalent-like organometallic bonding between Au and the central Fe atom of ferrocene, having bond energies of ∼660 meV. Overall, our study not only demonstrates the realization of an air-stable highly transmitting molecular junction, but also provides important insights about the nature of chemical bonding at the metal/organo-metallic interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biswajit Pabi
- Department of Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Sector III, Block JD, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700106, India.
| | - Štepán Marek
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, 121 16, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Adwitiya Pal
- Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700032, India
| | - Puja Kumari
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihar-801106, India
| | - Soumya Jyoti Ray
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihar-801106, India
| | - Arunabha Thakur
- Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700032, India
| | - Richard Korytár
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, 121 16, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Atindra Nath Pal
- Department of Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Sector III, Block JD, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700106, India.
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Lawson B, Zahl P, Hybertsen MS, Kamenetska M. Formation and Evolution of Metallocene Single-Molecule Circuits with Direct Gold-π Links. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:6504-6515. [PMID: 35353518 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c01322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Single-molecule circuits with group 8 metallocenes are formed without additional linker groups in scanning tunneling microscope-based break junction (STMBJ) measurements at cryogenic and room-temperature conditions with gold (Au) electrodes. We investigate the nature of this direct gold-π binding motif and its effect on molecular conductance and persistence characteristics during junction evolution. The measurement technique under cryogenic conditions tracks molecular plateaus through the full cycle of extension and compression. Analysis reveals that junction persistence when the metal electrodes are pushed together correlates with whether electrodes are locally sharp or blunt, suggesting distinct scenarios for metallocene junction formation and evolution. The top and bottom surfaces of the "barrel"-shaped metallocenes present the electron-rich π system of cyclopentadienyl rings, which interacts with the gold electrodes in two distinct ways. An undercoordinated gold atom on a sharp tip forms a donor-acceptor bond to a specific carbon atom in the ring. However, a small, flat patch on a dull tip can bind more strongly to the ring as a whole through van der Waals interactions. Density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations of model electrode structures provide an atomic-scale picture of these scenarios, demonstrating the role of these bonding motifs during junction evolution and showing that the conductance is relatively independent of tip atomic-scale structure. The nonspecific interaction of the cyclopentadienyl rings with the electrodes enables extended conductance plateaus, a mechanism distinct from that identified for the more commonly studied, rod-shaped organic molecular wires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent Lawson
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Percy Zahl
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Mark S Hybertsen
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Maria Kamenetska
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.,Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.,Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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Malik H, Saha P, Patra K, Bera JK, Gopakumar TG. Solvent- and Temperature-Dependent Assembly in Monolayer Films of a Ferrocene-Naphthyridine Hybrid on HOPG. Chem Asian J 2021; 16:1430-1437. [PMID: 33830680 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202100187] [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: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The formation of a monolayer film of bis-naphthyridyl ferrocene on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) at ambient conditions is demonstrated. The films are prepared by drop casting from different solvents. The microscopic structure of the films is understood using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The analysis reveals two different types of Phases (I and II) in the films and the relative percentage of these phases depends on the nature of the solvents used for the preparation and the thermodynamical condition. Solvents like methanol, acetonitrile and DMF exclusively select Phase-I, whereas acetone and ethanol show a mix of both phases at room temperature. The different phases are formed by different conformers of the molecule. We also show that the selectivity of one of the phases over the other is related to the difference in the energetics for the formation of these phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himani Malik
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, UP 208016, India
| | - Prithwidip Saha
- Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, CNRS, LAI, 13009, Marseille, France
| | - Kamaless Patra
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, UP 208016, India
| | - Jitendra K Bera
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, UP 208016, India
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Camarasa-Gómez M, Hernangómez-Pérez D, Inkpen MS, Lovat G, Fung ED, Roy X, Venkataraman L, Evers F. Mechanically Tunable Quantum Interference in Ferrocene-Based Single-Molecule Junctions. NANO LETTERS 2020; 20:6381-6386. [PMID: 32787164 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Ferrocenes are ubiquitous organometallic building blocks that comprise a Fe atom sandwiched between two cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings that rotate freely at room temperature. Of widespread interest in fundamental studies and real-world applications, they have also attracted some interest as functional elements of molecular-scale devices. Here we investigate the impact of the configurational degrees of freedom of a ferrocene derivative on its single-molecule junction conductance. Measurements indicate that the conductance of the ferrocene derivative, which is suppressed by 2 orders of magnitude as compared to a fully conjugated analogue, can be modulated by altering the junction configuration. Ab initio transport calculations show that the low conductance is a consequence of destructive quantum interference effects of the Fano type that arise from the hybridization of localized metal-based d-orbitals and the delocalized ligand-based π-system. By rotation of the Cp rings, the hybridization, and thus the quantum interference, can be mechanically controlled, resulting in a conductance modulation that is seen experimentally.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Camarasa-Gómez
- Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Hernangómez-Pérez
- Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 761001, Israel
| | - Michael S Inkpen
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Giacomo Lovat
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - E-Dean Fung
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Xavier Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Latha Venkataraman
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Ferdinand Evers
- Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
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Aragonès AC, Darwish N, Ciampi S, Jiang L, Roesch R, Ruiz E, Nijhuis CA, Díez-Pérez I. Control over Near-Ballistic Electron Transport through Formation of Parallel Pathways in a Single-Molecule Wire. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 141:240-250. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b09086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Albert C. Aragonès
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences, King’s College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
- Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTC), Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nadim Darwish
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley WA 6102, Australia
| | - Simone Ciampi
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley WA 6102, Australia
| | - Li Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543
| | - Raphael Roesch
- Center for Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Eliseo Ruiz
- Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTC), Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Christian A. Nijhuis
- Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543
- Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore, 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546
| | - Ismael Díez-Pérez
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences, King’s College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, United Kingdom
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Jacob D, Palacios JJ. Critical comparison of electrode models in density functional theory based quantum transport calculations. J Chem Phys 2011; 134:044118. [PMID: 21280698 DOI: 10.1063/1.3526044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We study the performance of two different electrode models in quantum transport calculations based on density functional theory: parametrized Bethe lattices and quasi-one-dimensional wires or nanowires. A detailed account of implementation details in both the cases is given. From the systematic study of nanocontacts made of representative metallic elements, we can conclude that the parametrized electrode models represent an excellent compromise between computational cost and electronic structure definition as long as the aim is to compare with experiments where the precise atomic structure of the electrodes is not relevant or defined with precision. The results obtained using parametrized Bethe lattices are essentially similar to the ones obtained with quasi-one-dimensional electrodes for large enough cross-sections of these, adding a natural smearing to the transmission curves that mimics the true nature of polycrystalline electrodes. The latter are more demanding from the computational point of view, but present the advantage of expanding the range of applicability of transport calculations to situations where the electrodes have a well-defined atomic structure, as is the case for carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoribbons, or semiconducting nanowires. All the analysis is done with the help of codes developed by the authors which can be found in the quantum transport toolbox ALACANT and are publicly available.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Jacob
- Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, 06120 Halle, Germany.
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Zhou JG, Williams QL, Wu R. Thioglycolic acid on the gold (111) surface and Raman vibrational spectra. J Chem Phys 2010; 132:064702. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3319711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Morari C, Rungger I, Rocha AR, Sanvito S, Melinte S, Rignanese GM. Electronic transport properties of 1,1'-ferrocene dicarboxylic acid linked to Al(111) electrodes. ACS NANO 2009; 3:4137-4143. [PMID: 19928996 DOI: 10.1021/nn9012059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The electronic transport properties of the 1,1'-ferrocene dicarboxylic acid sandwiched between Al(111) electrodes are studied using first-principles methods. The transmission spectra and the current-voltage characteristics are computed for various two-terminal device models and their relation with the electronic structure of the molecule is thoroughly discussed. The current-voltage characteristics are asymmetric, spin-independent, and vary with the anchoring structure of the molecule to the electrodes. A fine-tuning of the molecular conductance can be easily achieved by applying a gate potential, which is included in our simulations. Interestingly, a spin-polarized current can emerge as a consequence of the gate potential with the relative contribution of the two spin channels varying with the bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Morari
- Universite Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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