An international team of researchers led by the University of Bern and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has revealed a new way to tune the functionality of next-generation molecular electronic devices using graphene. The results could be exploited to develop smaller, higher-performance devices for use in a range of applications including molecular sensing, flexible electronics, and energy conversion and storage, as well as robust measurement setups for resistance standards.
The field of nanoscale molecular electronics aims to exploit individual molecules as the building blocks for electronic devices, to improve functionality and enable developers to achieve an unprecedented level of device miniaturization and control. The main obstacle hindering progress in this field is the absence of stable contacts between the molecules and metals used that can both operate at room temperature and provide reproducible results. Graphene possesses not only excellent mechanical stability, but also exceptionally high electronic and thermal conductive properties, making the emerging 2D material very attractive for a range of possible applications in molecular electronics.
A team of experimentalists from the University of Bern and theoreticians from NPL (UK) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, Spain), with the help of collaborators from Chuo University (Japan), have demonstrated the stability of multi-layer graphene-based molecular electronic devices down to the single molecule limit. The findings, reported in the journal Science Advances, represent a major step change in the development of graphene-based molecular electronics, with the reproducible properties of covalent contacts between molecules and graphene (even at room temperature) overcoming the limitations of current state-of-the-art technologies based on coinage metals.
Connecting single molecules
Adsorption of specific molecules on graphene-based electronic devices allows device functionality to be tuned, mainly by modifying its electrical resistance. However, it is difficult to relate overall device properties to the properties of the individual molecules adsorbed, since averaged quantities cannot identify possibly large variations across the graphene’s surface.
Dr Alexander Rudnev and Dr Veerabhadrarao Kaliginedi, from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Bern, performed measurements of the electric current flowing though single molecules attached to graphite or multi-layered graphene electrodes using a unique low-noise experimental technique, which allowed them to resolve these molecule-to-molecule variations. Guided by the theoretical calculations of Dr Ivan Rungger (NPL) and Dr Andrea Droghetti (UPV/EHU), they demonstrated that variations on the graphite surface are very small and that the nature of the chemical contact of a molecule to the top graphene layer dictates the functionality of single-molecule electronic devices.
“We find that by carefully designing the chemical contact of molecules to graphene-based materials, we can tune their functionality,” said Dr Rungger. “Our single-molecule diodes showed that the rectification direction of electric current can be indeed switched by changing the nature of chemical contact of each molecule,” added Dr Rudnev.
“We are confident that our findings represent a significant step towards the practical exploitation of molecular electronic devices, and we expect a significant change in the research field direction following our path of room-temperature stable chemical bonding,” summarized Dr Kaliginedi. The findings will also help researchers working in electro-catalysis and energy conversion research design graphene/molecule interfaces in their experimental systems to improve the efficiency of the catalyst or device.
Learn more:Graphene electrodes offer new functionalities in molecular electronic nanodevices
[osd_subscribe categories=’molecular-electronic-nanodevices’ placeholder=’Email Address’ button_text=’Subscribe Now for any new posts on the topic “MARS’]
The Latest on: Molecular electronic nanodevices
[google_news title=”” keyword=”molecular electronic nanodevices” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
- Molecular Biology Newson March 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Mar. 21, 2024 — A research consortium made a recent discovery that the natural molecule trigonelline present in coffee, fenugreek, and also in the human body, can help to improve muscle health ...
- Ballistic transport in long molecular wires: Porphyrin nanoribbonson March 4, 2024 at 4:00 pm
The reason behind this is an often strong mismatch between the energy of the transporting molecular orbitals and the electrode Fermi level (the highest occupied electronic state of a metal ...
- Department of Molecular Biologyon November 12, 2023 at 1:11 pm
University of Wyoming’s molecular biology program provides students with the education and research experience needed to excel in biological research and biotechnology. The emergence of molecular ...
- Molecular Diagnostics Certificateon September 8, 2023 at 1:25 pm
The information presented in each course will provide scientists with the opportunity to update their skills and knowledge, allowing them to meet the increasing demands of modern molecular biology ...
- Molecular Psychiatryon August 25, 2023 at 10:57 pm
Molecular Psychiatry is a scientific journal published by Nature Publishing Group. It publishes papers in biological psychiatry and, e.g., about psychiatric genetics. With an impact factor of 15. ...
- Molecular BioSystemson August 13, 2023 at 12:47 am
Molecular BioSystems has been renamed Molecular Omics. Molecular Omics publishes molecular level experimental and bioinformatics research in the -omics sciences, including genomics, proteomics, ...
- Molecular collectionson June 3, 2023 at 12:42 pm
The molecular collection is a state-of-the-art facility designed to safeguard the world’s genetic material for future research. Molecular collections are a unique and valuable resource with the ...
- Cell and Molecular Biology M.S. and Ph.D.on June 2, 2023 at 11:43 am
Armed with a deep understanding of the structure of cells, professionals in the field of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) are leading the charge against some of the world's most prevalent illnesses ...
- Molecular Biologyon June 1, 2023 at 10:47 am
The B.S. in molecular biology at UW provides students with an opportunity to learn about the science of life at multiple levels, from the innerworkings of single cells to those of complex organisms.
- The Right Chemistryon March 5, 2022 at 1:13 am
“They’re being used in targeted drug delivery. They’re also being used in molecular electronic devices. And they could help miniaturize electronics and computing devices even further.” What inspired ...
via Google News and Bing News