The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes
Herein, we report the spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkyne contact groups. Self-assembled monolayers that form spontaneously from diluted solutions of 1, 4-diethynylbenzene (DEB) were used to build single-molecule contacts and assessed using the scanning tunneling m...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd.
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17723 |
| _version_ | 1848749539476897792 |
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| author | Pla-Vilanova, P. Aragonès, A. Ciampi, S. Sanz, F. Darwish, Nadim Diez-Perez, I. |
| author_facet | Pla-Vilanova, P. Aragonès, A. Ciampi, S. Sanz, F. Darwish, Nadim Diez-Perez, I. |
| author_sort | Pla-Vilanova, P. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Herein, we report the spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkyne contact groups. Self-assembled monolayers that form spontaneously from diluted solutions of 1, 4-diethynylbenzene (DEB) were used to build single-molecule contacts and assessed using the scanning tunneling microscopy-break junction technique (STM-BJ). The STM-BJ technique in both its dynamic and static approaches was used to characterize the lifetime (stability) and the conductivity of a single-DEB wire. It is demonstrated that single-molecule junctions form spontaneously with terminal alkynes and require no electrochemical control or chemical deprotonation. The alkyne anchoring group was compared against typical contact groups exploited in single-molecule studies, i.e. amine (benzenediamine) and thiol (benzendithiol) contact groups. The alkyne contact showed a conductance magnitude comparable to that observed with amine and thiol groups. The lifetime of the junctions formed from alkynes were only slightly less than that of thiols and greater than that observed for amines. These findings are important as (a) they extend the repertoire of chemical contacts used in single-molecule measurements to 1-alkynes, which are synthetically accessible and stable and (b) alkynes have a remarkable affinity toward silicon surfaces, hence opening the door for the study of single-molecule transport on a semiconducting electronic platform. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:22:33Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-17723 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:22:33Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-177232017-09-13T15:44:33Z The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes Pla-Vilanova, P. Aragonès, A. Ciampi, S. Sanz, F. Darwish, Nadim Diez-Perez, I. Herein, we report the spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkyne contact groups. Self-assembled monolayers that form spontaneously from diluted solutions of 1, 4-diethynylbenzene (DEB) were used to build single-molecule contacts and assessed using the scanning tunneling microscopy-break junction technique (STM-BJ). The STM-BJ technique in both its dynamic and static approaches was used to characterize the lifetime (stability) and the conductivity of a single-DEB wire. It is demonstrated that single-molecule junctions form spontaneously with terminal alkynes and require no electrochemical control or chemical deprotonation. The alkyne anchoring group was compared against typical contact groups exploited in single-molecule studies, i.e. amine (benzenediamine) and thiol (benzendithiol) contact groups. The alkyne contact showed a conductance magnitude comparable to that observed with amine and thiol groups. The lifetime of the junctions formed from alkynes were only slightly less than that of thiols and greater than that observed for amines. These findings are important as (a) they extend the repertoire of chemical contacts used in single-molecule measurements to 1-alkynes, which are synthetically accessible and stable and (b) alkynes have a remarkable affinity toward silicon surfaces, hence opening the door for the study of single-molecule transport on a semiconducting electronic platform. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17723 10.1088/0957-4484/26/38/381001 Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. restricted |
| spellingShingle | Pla-Vilanova, P. Aragonès, A. Ciampi, S. Sanz, F. Darwish, Nadim Diez-Perez, I. The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title | The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title_full | The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title_fullStr | The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title_short | The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| title_sort | spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17723 |