Robust graphene-based molecular devices

Robust graphene-based molecular devices

El Abbassi, M. (TU Delft QN/van der Zant Lab; Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa); University of Basel; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Sangtarash, Sara (Lancaster University; University of Warwick)
Liu, Xunshan (University of Bern)
Perrin, M.L. (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa))
Braun, Oliver (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa); University of Basel)
Lambert, Colin (Lancaster University)
van der Zant, H.S.J. (TU Delft QN/van der Zant Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Yitzchaik, Shlomo (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Decurtins, Silvio (University of Bern)

2019

One of the main challenges to upscale the fabrication of molecular devices is to achieve a mechanically stable device with reproducible and controllable electronic features that operates at room temperature1,2. This is crucial because structural and electronic fluctuations can lead to significant changes in the transport characteristics at the electrode-molecule interface3,4. In this study, we report on the realization of a mechanically and electronically robust graphene-based molecular junction. Robustness was achieved by separating the requirements for mechanical and electronic stability at the molecular level. Mechanical stability was obtained by anchoring molecules directly to the substrate, rather than to graphene electrodes, using a silanization reaction. Electronic stability was achieved by adjusting the π-π orbitals overlap of the conjugated head groups between neighbouring molecules. The molecular devices exhibited stable current-voltage (I-V) characteristics up to bias voltages of 2.0 V with reproducible transport features in the temperature range from 20 to 300 K.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a8b24251-0b3c-4b11-9589-6de4cab16866

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0533-8

2020-02-16

1748-3395

Nature Nanotechnology, 14 (10), 957-961

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

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© 2019 M. El Abbassi, Sara Sangtarash, Xunshan Liu, M.L. Perrin, Oliver Braun, Colin Lambert, H.S.J. van der Zant, Shlomo Yitzchaik, Silvio Decurtins, More Authors