Molecular Electronics

Abundant research has been dedicated to the study of the electronic properties of single and small collections of molecules in the broadly defined area of Molecular Electronics. In many molecular electronic systems, electrical transport measurements are performed between two metallic electrodes that sandwich the molecules, for example, in a bottom-up approach by making a metal contact to a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formed on a metal thin film. However, establishing an intimate contact to fragile molecules is not a trivial pursuit. In the first period (2006-2012) of our efforts on molecular electronics, we developed a unique technique, cross-linked perfluoropolyether (PFPE) elastomeric stamps based nanotransfer printing (nTP), to create permanent metal-molecule-metal (MMM) junctions.

In the second period (2012-present), we have employed this broadly applicable technique to further understand the transport behavior of different molecules in the ensemble, including conjugated molecules of varying molecule structures and chain lengths. Electron transport along these conjugated molecules/polymers is not only fundamentally interesting, also crucial for various applications (such as organic solar cells)