An electrically actuated molecular toggle switch.
An electrically actuated molecular toggle switch.
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms14672
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发表时间：
2017-03-09
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Wulfhekel W
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gerhard L;Edelmann K;Homberg J;Valášek M;Bahoosh SG;Lukas M;Pauly F;Mayor M;Wulfhekel W
分子电子学被认为是未来纳米电子器件的一种很有前途的方法。为了使分子结可用作电子开关甚至存储器件，它们需要通过外部刺激在两种不同的电导状态之间以可控和可重复的方式被驱动。在这里，我们提出了一个带有悬臂臂的三脚架平台，其末端有一个从表面抬起的腈基团。扫描隧道显微镜的腈氮和金尖端之间的配位键的形成可以通过电气和机械手段来控制，并导致结电导的滞后开关超过两个数量级。这种拨动开关可以以高再现性驱动，因此分子悬臂的机械变形所涉及的力可以用扫描隧道显微镜精确地确定。健壮的分子结要求在控制时在两个或多个定义良好的电导状态之间进行高度可重复的切换。在这里，Gerhard等人展示了在扫描隧道显微镜的连接处使用三足螺芴衍生物的弹性变形来实现这一目标。
Molecular electronics is considered a promising approach for future nanoelectronic devices. In order that molecular junctions can be used as electrical switches or even memory devices, they need to be actuated between two distinct conductance states in a controlled and reproducible manner by external stimuli. Here we present a tripodal platform with a cantilever arm and a nitrile group at its end that is lifted from the surface. The formation of a coordinative bond between the nitrile nitrogen and the gold tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope can be controlled by both electrical and mechanical means, and leads to a hysteretic switching of the conductance of the junction by more than two orders of magnitude. This toggle switch can be actuated with high reproducibility so that the forces involved in the mechanical deformation of the molecular cantilever can be determined precisely with scanning tunnelling microscopy. Robust molecular junctions demand highly reproducible switching between two or more well-defined conductance states upon control. Here, Gerhard et al. show the utility of elastic deformation of tripodal spirobifluorene derivatives in the junction of a scanning tunnelling microscope to achieve this goal.