Reproducible Measurement of Single-Molecule Conductivity

作者：Xiaodong Cui, Alex Primak, Xristo Zárate, John K. Tomfohr, Otto F. Sankey, Ana L. Moore, Thomas A. Moore, Devens Gust, Gari S. Harris, Stuart Lindsay · 发表于：Science · 年份：2001 · DOI：10.1126/science.1064354 · 被引用次数：1288 · 研究领域：Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures、Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications、Nanowire Synthesis and Applications

A reliable method has been developed for making through-bond electrical contacts to molecules. Current-voltage curves are quantized as integer multiples of one fundamental curve, an observation used to identify single-molecule contacts. The resistance of a single octanedithiol molecule was 900 +/- 50 megohms, based on measurements on more than 1000 single molecules. In contrast, nonbonded contacts to octanethiol monolayers were at least four orders of magnitude more resistive, less reproducible, and had a different voltage dependence, demonstrating that the measurement of intrinsic molecular properties requires chemically bonded contacts.