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Environmental Control of Single-Molecule Junction Transport

Authors: V, Fatemi; M, Kamenetska; J B, Neaton; L, Venkataraman;

Environmental Control of Single-Molecule Junction Transport

Abstract

The conductance of individual 1,4-benzenediamine (BDA)-Au molecular junctions is measured in different solvent environments using a scanning tunneling microscope based point-contact technique. Solvents are found to increase the conductance of these molecular junctions by as much as 50%. Using first principles calculations, we explain this increase by showing that a shift in the Au contact work function is induced by solvents binding to undercoordinated Au sites around the junction. Increasing the Au contact work function reduces the separation between the Au Fermi energy and the highest occupied molecular orbital of BDA in the junction, increasing the measured conductance. We demonstrate that the solvent-induced shift in conductance depends on the affinity of the solvent to Au binding sites and also on the induced dipole (relative to BDA) upon adsorption. Via this mechanism, molecular junction level alignment and transport properties can be statistically altered by solvent molecule binding to the contact surface.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
106
Top 10%
Top 10%
Top 10%
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