1
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Pan X, Montes E, Rojas WY, Lawson B, Vázquez H, Kamenetska M. Cooperative Self-Assembly of Dimer Junctions Driven by π Stacking Leads to Conductance Enhancement. Nano Lett 2023; 23:6937-6943. [PMID: 37486358 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate enhanced electronic transport through dimer molecular junctions, which self-assemble between two gold electrodes in π-π stabilized binding configurations. Single molecule junction conductance measurements show that benzimidazole molecules assemble into dimer junctions with a per-molecule conductance that is higher than that in monomer junctions. Density functional theory calculations reveal that parallel stacking of two benzimidazoles between electrodes is the most energetically favorable due to the large π system. Imidazole is smaller and has greater conformational freedom to access different stacking angles. Transport calculations confirm that the conductance enhancement of benzimidazole dimers results from the changed binding geometry of dimers on gold, which is stabilized and made energetically accessible by intermolecular π stacking. We engineer imidazole derivatives with higher monomer conductance than benzimidazole and large intermolecular interaction that promote cooperative in situ assembly of more transparent dimer junctions and suggest at the potential of molecular devices based on self-assembled molecular layers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Pan
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Enrique Montes
- Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10, Prague CZ-162 00, Czech Republic
| | - Wudmir Y Rojas
- Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10, Prague CZ-162 00, Czech Republic
| | - Brent Lawson
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Héctor Vázquez
- Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10, Prague CZ-162 00, Czech Republic
| | - Maria Kamenetska
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155, United States
- Division of Material Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155, United States
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2
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Chen Y, Huang M, Zhou Q, Li Z, Meng J, Pan M, Ye X, Liu T, Chang S, Xiao S. Regio- and Steric Effects on Single Molecule Conductance of Phenanthrenes. Nano Lett 2021; 21:10333-10340. [PMID: 34874740 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c03565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Here, six phenanthrene (the smallest arm-chair graphene nanoribbon) derivatives with dithiomethyl substitutions at different positions as the anchoring groups were synthesized. Scanning tunneling microscopy break junction technique was used to measure their single molecule conductances between gold electrodes, which showed a difference as much as 20-fold in the range of ∼10-2.82 G0 to ∼10-4.09 G0 following the trend of G2,7 > G3,6 > G2,6 > G1,7 > G1,6 > G1,8. DFT calculations agree well with this measured trend and indicate that the single molecule conductances are a combination of energy alignment, electronic coupling, and quantum effects. This significant regio- and steric effect on the single molecule conductance of phenanthrene model molecules shows the complexity in the practice of graphene nanoribbons as building blocks for future carbon-based electronics in one hand but also provides good conductance tunability on the other hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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
| | - 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
| | - 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
| | - Zhen Li
- 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
| | - Jing Meng
- 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
| | - Mengyuan Pan
- 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
| | - Xiang Ye
- Key Laboratory of Opto-electrical Material and Device, Department of Physics, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Taifeng Liu
- 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
| | - 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
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3
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Huang M, Yu L, Zhang M, Wang Z, Xiao B, Liu Y, He J, Chang S. Developing Longer-Lived Single Molecule Junctions with a Functional Flexible Electrode. Small 2021; 17:e2101911. [PMID: 34292668 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202101911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Creating single-molecule junctions with a long-lived lifetime at room temperature is an open challenge. Finding simple and efficient approaches to increase the durability of single-molecule junction is also of practical value in molecular electronics. Here it is shown that a flexible gold-coated nanopipette electrode can be utilized in scanning tunneling microscope (STM) break-junction measurements to efficiently enhance the stability of molecular junctions by comparing with the measurements using conventional solid gold probes. The stabilizing effect of the flexible electrode displays anchor group dependence, which increases with the binding energy between the anchor group and gold. An empirical model is proposed and shows that the flexible electrode could promote stable binding geometries at the gold-molecule interface and slow down the junction breakage caused by the external perturbations, thereby extending the junction lifetime. Finally, it is demonstrated for the first time that the internal conduit of the flexible STM tip can be utilized for the controlled molecule delivery and molecular junction formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Huang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China
- Department of Physics, Biomolecular Science Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Lei Yu
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Materials and Metallurgy, 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, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Materials and Metallurgy, 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, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China
| | - Yichong Liu
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China
| | - Jin He
- Department of Physics, Biomolecular Science Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Shuai Chang
- The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China
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4
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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 Lett 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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5
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Abstract
Recognition tunneling technique owns the capability for investigating and characterizing molecules at single molecule level. Here, we investigated the conductance value of cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and melphalan@CB[7] (Mel@CB[7]) complex molecular junctions by using recognition tunneling technique. The conductances of CB[7] and Mel@CB[7] with different pH values were studied in aqueous media as well as organic solvent. Both pH value and guest molecule have an impact on the conductance of CB[7] molecular junction. The conductances of CB[7] and Mel@CB[7] both showed slightly difference on the conductance under different measurement systems. This work extends the molecular conductance measurement to aqueous media and provides new insights of pH-responsive host-guest system for single molecule detection through electrical measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiushuang Ai
- The State Key Laboratory for Refractories and Metallurgy, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Qiang Fu
- Jiangxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Feng Liang
- The State Key Laboratory for Refractories and Metallurgy, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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6
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Li S, Yu H, Chen X, Gewirth AA, Moore JS, Schroeder CM. Covalent Ag-C Bonding Contacts from Unprotected Terminal Acetylenes for Molecular Junctions. Nano Lett 2020; 20:5490-5495. [PMID: 32511930 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Robust molecule-metal linkages are essential for developing high-performance and air-stable devices for molecular and organic electronics. In this work, we report a facile method for forming robust and covalent bonding contacts between unprotected terminal acetylenes and metal (Ag) interfaces. Using this approach, we study the charge transport properties of conjugated oligophenylenes with covalent metal-carbon contacts to silver electrodes formed from unprotected terminal acetylene anchors. We performed single molecule charge transport experiments and molecular simulations on a series of arylacetylenes using gold and silver electrodes. Our results show that molecular junctions on silver electrodes spontaneously form silver-carbynyl carbon (Ag-C) contacts, resulting in a nearly 10-fold increase in conductance compared to the same molecules on gold electrodes. Overall, this work presents a simple, new electrode-anchor pair that reliably forms molecular junctions with stable and robust contacts for molecular electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songsong Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Hao Yu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Xinyi Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- International Institute for Carbon Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0385, Japan
| | - Andrew A Gewirth
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- International Institute for Carbon Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0385, Japan
| | - Jeffrey S Moore
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Charles M Schroeder
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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7
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Abstract
Proteins have been shown to be electrically conductive if tethered to an electrode by means of a specific binding agent, allowing single molecules to be wired into an electrical sensing circuit. Such circuits allow enzymes to be used as sensors, detectors, and sequencing devices. We have engineered contact points into a Φ29 polymerase by introducing biotinylatable peptide sequences. The modified enzyme was bound to electrodes functionalized with streptavidin. Φ29 connected by one biotinylated contact, and a second nonspecific contact showed rapid small fluctuations in current when activated. Signals were greatly enhanced with two specific contacts. Features in the distributions of DC conductance increased by a factor 2 or more over the open to closed conformational transition of the polymerase. Polymerase activity is manifested by a rapid (millisecond) large (25% of background) current fluctuations imposed on the DC conductance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bintian Zhang
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Hanqing Deng
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Sohini Mukherjee
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Weisi Song
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Xu Wang
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Stuart Lindsay
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
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8
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Zhang Q, Liu L, Tao S, Wang C, Zhao C, González C, Dappe YJ, Nichols RJ, Yang L. Graphene as a Promising Electrode for Low-Current Attenuation in Nonsymmetric Molecular Junctions. Nano Lett 2016; 16:6534-6540. [PMID: 27668518 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
We have measured the single-molecule conductance of 1,n-alkanedithiol molecular bridges (n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) on a graphene substrate using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)-formed electrical junctions. The conductance values of this homologous series ranged from 2.3 nS (n = 12) to 53 nS (n = 4), with a decay constant βn of 0.40 per methylene (-CH2) group. This result is explained by a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and Keldysh-Green function calculations. The obtained decay, which is much lower than the one obtained for symmetric gold junctions, is related to the weak coupling at the molecule-graphene interface and the electronic structure of graphene. As a consequence, we show that using graphene nonsymmetric junctions and appropriate anchoring groups may lead to a much-lower decay constant and more-conductive molecular junctions at longer lengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 7ZD U.K
| | - Longlong Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University , Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Shuhui Tao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 7ZD U.K
| | | | | | - César González
- SPEC, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay , CEA Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
- Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadores, Universidad de Granada , Campus de Fuente Nueva & CITIC, Campus de Aynadamar 18071, Granada, Spain
| | - 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 U.K
| | - Li Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 7ZD U.K
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9
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Zhang W, Gan S, Vezzoli A, Davidson RJ, Milan DC, Luzyanin KV, Higgins SJ, Nichols RJ, Beeby A, Low PJ, Li B, Niu L. Single-Molecule Conductance of Viologen-Cucurbit[8]uril Host-Guest Complexes. ACS Nano 2016; 10:5212-5220. [PMID: 27055002 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b00786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The local molecular environment is a critical factor which should be taken into account when measuring single-molecule electrical properties in condensed media or in the design of future molecular electronic or single molecule sensing devices. Supramolecular interactions can be used to control the local environment in molecular assemblies and have been used to create microenvironments, for instance, for chemical reactions. Here, we use supramolecular interactions to create microenvironments which influence the electrical conductance of single molecule wires. Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) with a large hydrophobic cavity was used to host the viologen (bipyridinium) molecular wires forming a 1:1 supramolecular complex. Significant increases in the viologen wire single molecule conductances are observed when it is threaded into CB[8] due to large changes of the molecular microenvironment. The results were interpreted within the framework of a Marcus-type model for electron transfer as arising from a reduction in outer-sphere reorganization energy when the viologen is confined within the hydrophobic CB[8] cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, c/o Engineering Laboratory for Modern Analytical Techniques, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, China
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Shiyu Gan
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, c/o Engineering Laboratory for Modern Analytical Techniques, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, China
| | - Andrea Vezzoli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Ross J Davidson
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - David C Milan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Konstantin V Luzyanin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Simon J Higgins
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Richard J Nichols
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Beeby
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Paul J Low
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Buyi Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool , Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Li Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, c/o Engineering Laboratory for Modern Analytical Techniques, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, China
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10
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Abstract
An extremely important biological component, RNA:DNA can also be used to design nanoscale structures such as molecular wires. The conductance of single adenine-stacked RNA:DNA hybrids is rapidly and reproducibly measured using the break junction approach. The conductance decreases slightly over a large range of molecular lengths, suggesting that RNA:DNA can be used as an oligonucleotide wire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanhui Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Juan M Artés
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Joshua Hihath
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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11
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Gillemot K, Evangeli C, Leary E, La Rosa A, González MT, Filippone S, Grace I, Rubio-Bollinger G, Ferrer J, Martín N, Lambert CJ, Agraït N. A detailed experimental and theoretical study into the properties of C60 dumbbell junctions. Small 2013; 9:3812-3822. [PMID: 23630169 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201300310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2013] [Revised: 03/04/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A combined experimental and theoretical investigation is carried out into the electrical transport across a fullerene dumbbell one-molecule junction. The newly designed molecule comprises two C60 s connected to a fluorene backbone via cyclopropyl groups. It is wired between gold electrodes under ambient conditions by pressing the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) onto one of the C60 groups. The STM allows us to identify a single molecule before the junction is formed through imaging, which means unambiguously that only one molecule is wired. Once lifted, the same molecule could be wired many times as it was strongly fixed to the tip, and a high conductance state close to 10(-2) G0 is found. The results also suggest that the relative conductance fluctuations are low as a result of the low mobility of the molecule. Theoretical analysis indicates that the molecule is connected directly to one electrode through the central fluorene, and that to bind it to the gold fully it has to be pushed through a layer of adsorbates naturally present in the experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Gillemot
- Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK
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12
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Kolivoška V, Valášek M, Gál M, Sokolová R, Bulíčková J, Pospíšil L, Mészáros G, Hromadová M. Single-Molecule Conductance in a Series of Extended Viologen Molecules. J Phys Chem Lett 2013; 4:589-595. [PMID: 26281871 DOI: 10.1021/jz302057m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Single-molecule conductance in a series of extended viologen molecules was measured at room temperature using a gold-molecule-gold scanning tunneling microscopy break junction arrangement. Conductance values for individual molecules change from 4.8 ± 1.2 nS for the shortest compound to 2.9 ± 1.0 nS for the compound with six repeating units and length of 11 nm. The latter value is almost 3 orders of magnitude higher than that reported for all-carbon-based aromatic molecular wires of comparable length. On the basis of the length of the molecules, an attenuation factor of only 0.06 ± 0.004 nm(-1) (0.006 ± 0.0004 Å(-1)) was obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the smallest value reported for the conductance attenuation in a series of molecular wires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viliam Kolivoška
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Valášek
- ‡Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Flemingovo n. 2, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Gál
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Romana Sokolová
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Bulíčková
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lubomír Pospíšil
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
- ‡Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Flemingovo n. 2, 16610 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Gábor Mészáros
- §Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri strasse 59-67, H-1025 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Magdaléna Hromadová
- †J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of ASCR, v.v.i., Dolejškova 3, 18223 Prague, Czech Republic
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