S. Verleger, in cooperation with J. Wolf, T. Huhn, U. Groth (Dpt. of Chemsitry) - Funding by Quantrans
Building circuits from single molecules requires a thorough understanding of the conducting mechanisms. Experimental results often differ widely, depending on the used technique. Recent studies have shown improved reproducibility with amino end groups in contrast to the widely used thiol anchors.
In this project, we focus on measurements of large molecular ensembles to obtain reliable statistics. We compare short conjugated molecules which differ in their end groups only, in order to get a grip on the influence of the end groups.
The metal-molecule-metal junctions are made as a sandwich structure from bottom to top: The bottom metal electrode is evaporated on a substrate, followed by applying the self-assembled monolayer of molecules. The top electrode is then stamped from a “gold-inked” PDMS stamp.