Invariance of molecular charge transport upon changes of extended molecule size and several related issues

• Ioan Bâldea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 418–431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.37

• spurious structures in nonlinear ranges of current–voltage curves. Keywords: extended Hückel method; Landauer formalism; molecular electronics; negative differential resistance; wide- and flat-band approximation; Introduction Even restricted to the steady-state regime, studying charge transport through

Organized films

• Maurizio Canepa and
• Helmuth Möhwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 406–408, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.35

• applications. This was most notable in the fields of molecular electronics and biosensors, which were emerging in those times and are now undergoing flourishing development. The interdisciplinary character of OFs, at the fortunately ill-defined borders between physical chemistry, chemical physics, biophysics

Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces

• Michal Valášek,
• Marcin Lindner and
• Marcel Mayor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 374–405, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.34

• over the arrangement of the protruding rod-type molecular structures (e.g., molecular wires, switches, rotors, sensors) with respect to the surface of the substrate. Keywords: multivalent anchoring; protruding structure; spatial arrangement; tripodal platform; Introduction Molecular electronics, as

• through the molecules is essential for the development and exploration of possible electronic components [6]. Since the first electrical measurements on benzene-1,4-dithiol molecules in 1997 [7] research in molecular electronics has progressed rapidly. The rapid growth of modern methods based on

• junctions are based on either electrochemical break junctions [13][14][15] or mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) [7] as well as on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) [9][16][17]. The ultimate goal of molecular electronics is to use assemblies of molecules or even single molecules as functional

Molecular machines and devices

• Jan van Ruitenbeek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 310–311, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.29

• to have enough concrete overlap of interests and backgrounds, but at the same time, wide enough to bring researchers together from fields that are somewhat disjoint. The three main topics in the 2014 Potsdam symposium were: molecular electronics, one-dimensional conductors, and synthetic molecular

• machines. Molecular electronics is currently being developed mostly at the interface between organic chemistry and nanophysics, leaning strongly towards the fundamental understanding of electron transport at the smallest scale and applications in nanoelectronics. The second topic, one-dimensional

• merely the result of fortuitous fluctuations in having the proper material timely available for this volume, rather than a bias of interest. Indeed, important developments can be anticipated at the interface with biomolecular sciences. In parallel, the first applications of molecular electronics are

Case studies on the formation of chalcogenide self-assembled monolayers on surfaces and dissociative processes

• Yongfeng Tong,
• Tingming Jiang,
• Azzedine Bendounan,
• Makri Nimbegondi Kotresh Harish,
• Angelo Giglia,
• Stefan Kubsky,
• Fausto Sirotti,
• Luca Pasquali,
• Srinivasan Sampath and
• Vladimir A. Esaulov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 263–277, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.24

• chalcogenophenes, the carbon–chalcogen atom-bond breaking can lead to opening of the ring and adsorption of an alkene chalcogenide. Such a disruption of the π-electron system affects charge transport along the chains. Awareness about these effects is of importance from the point of view of molecular electronics

• various applications such as catalysis, sensor development, hydrogen storage, thin films, and molecular electronics has focused on the study of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with different combinations of molecular architecture, and in particular, different molecule anchoring head groups. The latter

• molecules that have been extensively studied on Au and a few aromatic molecules such as benzenedithiol, thiophene derivatives and selenophene that are of interest in molecular electronics. Experimental The experimental procedure has been outlined in detail in previous publications [22][23][24][26][27][43

Current-induced runaway vibrations in dehydrogenated graphene nanoribbons

• Rasmus Bjerregaard Christensen,
• Jing-Tao Lü,
• Per Hedegård and
• Mads Brandbyge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 68–74, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.8

• how armchair nanoribbons can serve as a possible testbed for probing the current-induced forces. Keywords: current-induced forces; density functional theory (NEGF-DFT); graphene; molecular electronics; Introduction The electronic and transport properties of graphene has been the focus of intense

Effects of electronic coupling and electrostatic potential on charge transport in carbon-based molecular electronic junctions

• Richard L. McCreery

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 32–46, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.4

• ; Introduction The field of Molecular Electronics investigates the behavior of molecules as elements in electronic circuits, with the intent of exploiting variations of molecular structure to realize unusual electronic functions [1][2][3][4]. Charge transport through single molecules and through ensembles of

• possibility of electronic components that are smaller than existing transistors or diodes, have unusual properties not possible with conventional semiconductors, use less power, or are cheaper than existing microelectronics. A basic element of Molecular Electronics is the “molecular junction (MJ)” consisting

High electronic couplings of single mesitylene molecular junctions

• Yuki Komoto,
• Shintaro Fujii,
• Tomoaki Nishino and
• Manabu Kiguchi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2431–2437, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.251

• electrode perpendicular to the charge transport direction and (ii) mesitylene has tilted from the perpendicular orientation. Keywords: break junction; charge transport; mesitylene; single molecular junction; scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); Introduction Along with increasing interests in molecular

• electronics on the single molecular scale [1], much efforts have been devoted to understand charge transport in a single molecular junction, in which a single molecule is wired to two metal electrodes. In recent years single molecular junctions with electronic functionalities such as diodes [2][3][4][5][6][7

• ][8] and transistors [9][10][11][12][13] have been demonstrated. Electronic conductances for most of the single molecular junctions were reported to be below 0.01G0 (G0 = 2e2/h, G0−1 ≈ 12.9 kΩ). The low electronic conductances prevent practical application of the molecular junctions for the molecular

Negative differential electrical resistance of a rotational organic nanomotor

• Hatef Sadeghi,
• Sara Sangtarash,
• Qusiy Al-Galiby,
• Rachel Sparks,
• Steven Bailey and
• Colin J. Lambert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2332–2337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.240

• nonlinearity is strong enough to lead to negative differential resistance at modest source–drain voltages. Keywords: molecular electronics; molecular switch; Introduction Biomotors utilising myosins, kinesins, and dyneins [1][2][3][4] have been utilised in several motor-protein-driven devices for cargo

Electrospray deposition of organic molecules on bulk insulator surfaces

• Antoine Hinaut,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1927–1934, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.195

• hybrid-photovoltaic [1] or molecular electronics [2]. Information at the single molecular level, even if challenging, is required to foresee the interplay between nanoscale structures and geometries and the device properties. For reliable investigations of such systems, a well defined environment is

• Antoine Hinaut Remy Pawlak Ernst Meyer Thilo Glatzel Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland 10.3762/bjnano.6.195 Abstract Large organic molecules are of important interest for organic-based devices such as hybrid photovoltaics or molecular

• electronics. Knowing their adsorption geometries and electronic structures allows to design and predict macroscopic device properties. Fundamental investigations in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) are thus mandatory to analyze and engineer processes in this prospects. With increasing size, complexity or chemical

Large-voltage behavior of charge transport characteristics in nanosystems with weak electron–vibration coupling

• Tomáš Novotný and
• Wolfgang Belzig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1853–1859, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.188

• ; molecular electronics; Introduction The study of inelastic effects in transport through nanostructures, in particular in molecules [1][2][3] or atomic wires [4][5] has been an active field of research in past decade. The well-established inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) concept [6] has been

Conductance through single biphenyl molecules: symmetric and asymmetric coupling to electrodes

• Karthiga Kanthasamy and
• Herbert Pfnür

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1690–1697, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.171

• conductive properties of individual molecular groups. Keywords: biphenyl; metallic break junctions; molecular conductance; Introduction The ultimate goal of molecular electronics is to implement single molecules as active functional elements in future electronic devices such as amplifiers, rectifiers

• , diodes and logic switches [1]. Two decades after the proposal from Aviram and Ratner describing the molecular junction as p-n diodes [2] the experimental research in the field of molecular electronics [3] emerged. Even today, our understanding of the fundamental properties and charge transport mechanism

Electrical properties and mechanical stability of anchoring groups for single-molecule electronics

• Riccardo Frisenda,
• Simge Tarkuç,
• Elena Galán,
• Mickael L. Perrin,
• Rienk Eelkema,
• Ferdinand C. Grozema and
• Herre S. J. van der Zant

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1558–1567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.159

• theory combined with non-equlibrium Green’s function calculations help in elucidating the experimental findings. Keywords: anchoring groups; coherent transport; current–voltage; molecular electronics; single molecule; Introduction Molecular-scale electronics is a field that in recent years experienced

DNA–melamine hybrid molecules: from self-assembly to nanostructures

• Rina Kumari,
• Shib Shankar Banerjee,
• Anil K. Bhowmick and
• Prolay Das

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1432–1438, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.148

• an attractive molecular scaffold for the precise positioning of different molecules on the nanoscale [3][4]. DNA has been used to create nanostructures through hybridization-mediated self-assembly for molecular electronics and sensing applications [5][6][7]. DNA–organic hybrid structures have

• molecules can result in unique DNA-based nanostructures for application in molecular and cellular biophysics, as biomimetic systems, in energy transfer and photonics, and in diagnostics and therapeutics [18][19][20][21]. Moreover, as a bottom-up technique, such a methodology can contribute to molecular

• electronics where tunable electronic properties and templated metallization are frequently warranted [22][23][24]. Herein, we report the facile creation of DNA–organic hybrid molecules and demonstrate their self-assembly to create nanostructures. The organic molecule used here is melamine, a nitrogen-rich

Enhanced fullerene–Au(111) coupling in (2√3 × 2√3)R30° superstructures with intermolecular interactions

• Michael Paßens,
• Rainer Waser and
• Silvia Karthäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1421–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.147

• extensively studied self-assembled systems due to their rich structural and electronic properties [1]. A considerable interest in C60 films arises from their use in photovoltaic cells [2][3] and potential applications in molecular electronics [4]. Likewise, C60 molecules can be used as chemical anchoring

Can molecular projected density of states (PDOS) be systematically used in electronic conductance analysis?

• Tonatiuh Rangel,
• Gian-Marco Rignanese and
• Valerio Olevano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1247–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.128

• ; benzene-dithiol; DFT-Landauer; molecular electronics; nanoelectronics; quantum transport; Introduction According to Moore’s law, in a decade or so, the downscaling of conventional silicon-based electronics will achieve its ultimate nanoscale limit. Molecular electronics, or electronics at the nanoscale

Electrical characterization of single molecule and Langmuir–Blodgett monomolecular films of a pyridine-terminated oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) derivative

• Henrry M. Osorio,
• Santiago Martín,
• María Carmen López,
• Santiago Marqués-González,
• Simon J. Higgins,
• Richard J. Nichols,
• Paul J. Low and
• Pilar Cea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1145–1157, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.116

• metal–monolayer–metal junctions prepared under a number of different conditions. Keywords: Langmuir–Blodgett films; molecular electronics; STM touch-to-contact method; Introduction Molecular electronics, in which a single molecule or a single layer of molecules is oriented between two electrodes to

• assemblies for their study in the field of molecular electronics, namely, the self-assembly (SA), electrografting and Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) methodologies [25][26][27][28][29]. SA monolayers are easy to prepare and this method leads to highly ordered films. However, directionally oriented films of molecules

• molecular electronics have focused attention on this potential linker group as an alternative to solve these problems [87]. Previous studies of pyridyl-functionalized molecules in single molecule conductance studies [19][21][88][89][90][91] have revealed that this moiety can work as an anchoring group

Electroburning of few-layer graphene flakes, epitaxial graphene, and turbostratic graphene discs in air and under vacuum

• Andrea Candini,
• Nils Richter,
• Domenica Convertino,
• Camilla Coletti,
• Franck Balestro,
• Wolfgang Wernsdorfer,
• Mathias Kläui and
• Marco Affronte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 711–719, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.72

• promising for molecular electronics and spintronics. Here we report a systematic characterization of the electroburning (EB) process, leading to the formation of nanometer-spaced gaps, on different types of few-layer graphene (namely mechanically exfoliated graphene on SiO2, graphene epitaxially grown on

• ; molecular electronics; molecular spintronics; Introduction The vision of molecular electronics is the exploitation of single molecules as the active units in complex devices offering novel functionalities beyond the present technology [1][2][3]. To achieve this goal, several technological challenges need

• cannot be controlled experimentally, yet [4]. Recently, the use of graphene as electrode material for molecular electronics has been proposed [1][10]. With respect to metallic contacts, graphene offers a planar geometry with a thickness comparable to the molecular size and the strong sp2 carbon bonds

Entropy effects in the collective dynamic behavior of alkyl monolayers tethered to Si(111)

• Christian Godet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 583–594, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.60

• microscope (AFM) tip is moved away (laterally or vertically) [7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][18][21][23][24]. In the field of molecular electronics, many studies were performed by using junctions made of alkyl OML tethered to oxide-free silicon surfaces through chemically stable non-polar Si–C bonds [4

• ] and measurements can be performed in a well-defined metal/OML/semiconductor planar configuration, which is relevant for molecular electronics devices. Admittance spectroscopy provides insights in the modulation of localized charge density and dipole reorientation in a system submitted to a time

Functionalization of α-synuclein fibrils

• Simona Povilonienė,
• Vida Časaitė,
• Virginijus Bukauskas,
• Arūnas Šetkus,
• Juozas Staniulis and
• Rolandas Meškys

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 124–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.12

• ]. These natural building blocks with a wide range of modifiable properties have become very attractive tools for applications in biotechnology, material science, molecular electronics and related fields [6]. A variety of nanostructures, including nanotubes, nanospheres, nanofibers, nanotapes and hydrogels

In situ metalation of free base phthalocyanine covalently bonded to silicon surfaces

• Fabio Lupo,
• Cristina Tudisco,
• Federico Bertani,
• Enrico Dalcanale and
• Guglielmo G. Condorelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2222–2229, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.231

• ], catalysis [5], cancer therapy [6] and molecular electronics [3][7][8]. The most promising architecture for the exploitation of the potentialities of Pc and M–Pc is the organization of the molecules in a suitable and accessible way on a solid surface. Therefore, phthalocyanine thin films have been deposited

High speed e-beam lithography for gold nanoarray fabrication and use in nanotechnology

• Jorge Trasobares,
• François Vaurette,
• Marc François,
• Hans Romijn,
• Jean-Louis Codron,
• Dominique Vuillaume,
• Didier Théron and
• Nicolas Clément

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1918–1925, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.202

• ; high-speed e-beam lithography; molecular electronics; nanoarray; self-assembled monolayers; XPS; Introduction Well-ordered arrays of nanoparticles are already showing exciting applications in nanotechnology, including materials science [1][2][3][4][5], electronics [6][7][8][9][10], biology [11][12][13

• ][14] and information technology [14][15]. Combined top-down/bottom-up fabrication with versatile and well-controlled fabrication of gold nanoarrays coupled with (bio)molecules self-assembly offer great promises for fundamental research on molecular electronics [4][8] or high-throughput screening based

• prior molecular electronics study. We also propose an “advanced” conventional technique and discuss quantitatively the limiting parameter for each technique. Conventional and fast e-beam fabrication of gold nanoarrays The usual strategy for making these gold nanoarrays using e-beam lithography is to

Experimental techniques for the characterization of carbon nanoparticles – a brief overview

• Wojciech Kempiński,
• Szymon Łoś,
• Mateusz Kempiński and
• Damian Markowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1760–1766, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.186

• carrier transport within the systems of CNs by varying the temperature, adsorbed molecules and external electric field. Due to the significant changes in resistivity induced by the host–guest interactions, the systems of CNs might prove interesting in the fields of gas sensing, molecular electronics or

The influence of molecular mobility on the properties of networks of gold nanoparticles and organic ligands

• Edwin J. Devid,
• Paulo N. Martinho,
• M. Venkata Kamalakar,
• Úna Prendergast,
• Christian Kübel,
• Tibebe Lemma,
• Jean-François Dayen,
• Tia. E. Keyes,
• Bernard Doudin,
• Mario Ruben and
• Sense Jan van der Molen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1664–1674, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.177

• dithiolated conjugated molecules are allowed to form molecular bridges between neighboring nanoparticles [6][8]. Although molecular insertion cannot be driven to completeness for thermodynamic reasons [9][10], this protocol has proven successful in molecular electronics, e.g., by providing access to

Self-organization of mesoscopic silver wires by electrochemical deposition

• Sheng Zhong,
• Thomas Koch,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Harald Rösner,
• Eberhard Nold,
• Aaron Kobler,
• Torsten Scherer,
• Di Wang,
• Christian Kübel,
• Mu Wang,
• Horst Hahn and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1285–1290, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.142

• molecular electronics (for a collection of recent work see [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]). Silver wires, in particular have been the focus of research due to their excellent electric and optical properties [4][5][6][9][10][20]. For example, itinerant electrons in silver wires can strongly interact