Charge transport and rectification in molecular junctions formed with carbon-based electrodes.

ABSTRACT: Molecular junctions formed using the scanning-tunneling-microscope-based break-junction technique (STM-BJ) have provided unique insight into charge transport at the nanoscale. In most prior work, the same metal, typically Au, Pt, or Ag, is used for both tip and substrate. For such noble metal electrodes, the density of electronic states is approximately constant within a narrow energy window relevant to charge transport. Here, we form molecular junctions using the STM-BJ technique, with an Au metal tip and a microfabricated graphite substrate, and measure the conductance of a series of graphite/amine-terminated oligophenyl/Au molecular junctions. The remarkable mechanical strength of graphite and the single-crystal properties of our substrates allow measurements over few thousand junctions

SUBMITTER: Kim T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4121811 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature