Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The smallest molecular switch.

Eldon G Emberly1, George Kirczenow

  • 1Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|November 13, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Symmetry, disorder and transport through altermagnetic quantum dots and their antiferromagnetic twins.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2026
Same author

Novel low-energy geometries of single, double and triple tellurium atomic helices.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2025
Same author

Systematic study of low energy geometries of copper nano-junctions exposed to water and to species that can result from dissociation of water.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2020
Same author

Controlling the thermoelectric effect by mechanical manipulation of the electron's quantum phase in atomic junctions.

Scientific reports·2017
Same author

Electrical conductance and structure of copper atomic junctions in the presence of water molecules.

Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP·2015
Same author

Inelastic tunneling spectroscopy of gold-thiol and gold-thiolate interfaces in molecular junctions: the role of hydrogen.

The Journal of chemical physics·2012

Benzene-dithiolate molecules on gold form electrically bistable switches. These molecular switches, the smallest yet, can transition between strongly and weakly conducting states.

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Molecular electronics aims to utilize individual molecules as electronic components.
  • Understanding molecular conformations and their impact on conductivity is crucial for device development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the low-energy conformations of benzene-dithiolate molecules on a gold surface.
  • To determine if these molecular systems can function as electrical switches.

Main Methods:

  • Ab initio total energy calculations were employed.
  • Simulations involved benzene-dithiolate molecules contacted by a monatomic gold scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tip.

Main Results:

  • Two classes of low-energy molecular conformations with distinct symmetries were identified.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Molecular switching between strongly and weakly conducting states was observed.
  • These Au/BDT/Au systems function as electrically bistable switches.

    • Conclusions:

    • Benzene-dithiolate molecules on gold surfaces can form the smallest two-terminal molecular switches.
    • The observed electrical bistability arises from conformational changes induced by tip manipulation or molecular excitation.