From nanofabrication to self-fabrication--tailored chemistry for control of single molecule electronic devices

Single molecule electronics is a field of research focused on the use of single molecules as electronics components. During the past 15 years the field has concentrated on development of test beds for measurements on single molecules. Bottom-up approaches to single molecule devices are emerging as alternatives to the dominant top-down nanofabrication techniques. One example is solution-based self-assembly of a molecule enclosed by two gold nanorod electrodes. This article will discuss recent attempts to control the self-assembly process by the use of supramolecular chemistry and how to tailor the electronic properties of a single molecule by chemical design.