Regulating a Benzodifuran Single Molecule Redox Switch via Electrochemical Gating and Optimization of Molecule/Electrode Coupling

Li, Zhihai; Li, Hui; Chen, Songjie; Froehlich, Toni; Yi, Chenyi; Schönenberger, Christian; Calame, Michel; Decurtins, Silvio; Liu, Shi-Xia; Borguet, Eric (2014). Regulating a Benzodifuran Single Molecule Redox Switch via Electrochemical Gating and Optimization of Molecule/Electrode Coupling. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 136(25), pp. 8867-8870. American Chemical Society 10.1021/ja5034606

Text ja5034606.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (757kB) | Request a copy

We report a novel strategy for the regulation of charge transport through single molecule junctions via the combination of external stimuli of electrode potential, internal modulation of molecular structures, and optimization of anchoring groups. We have designed redox-active benzodifuran (BDF) compounds as functional electronic units to fabricate metal–molecule–metal (m–M–m) junction devices by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and mechanically controllable break junctions (MCBJ). The conductance of thiol-terminated BDF can be tuned by changing the electrode potentials showing clearly an off/on/off single molecule redox switching effect. To optimize the response, a BDF molecule tailored with carbodithioate (−CS2–) anchoring groups was synthesized. Our studies show that replacement of thiol by carbodithioate not only enhances the junction conductance but also substantially improves the switching effect by enhancing the on/off ratio from 2.5 to 8.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

0 since deposited on 25 Mar 2015
0 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item