Molecular electronics articles within Nature Chemistry

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The insertion of metal atoms and heteroaromatic units provides a way to tune the optical, electronic and magnetic properties of graphene nanoribbons. Now the synthesis of a porphyrin-fused graphene nanoribbon with a narrow bandgap and high charge mobility has been achieved, and this material used to fabricate field-effect and single-electron transistors.

    • Qiang Chen
    • , Alessandro Lodi
    •  & Harry L. Anderson

  • Article |

    In situ chirality identification for single-molecule systems is not a straightforward task. Now, real-time chirality identification during a Michael addition reaction has been realized by continuous measurements of spin-polarized currents through a single-molecule junction, providing a promising method for studying symmetry-breaking reactions.

    • Chen Yang
    • , Yanwei Li
    •  & Xuefeng Guo

  • Review Article |

    The ability to detect and quantify a given analyte at the molecular level is a long-lasting goal for analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. This Review highlights how single-molecule junctions (SMJs) have been used for analytical purposes, from the detection of isomers and reaction intermediates to the detection of proteins and nucleic acids. Different SMJ approaches are discussed, along with their advantages and limitations over bulk analytical techniques.

    • Essam M. Dief
    • , Paul J. Low
    •  & Nadim Darwish

  • Article |

    Supramolecular interactions play an essential role in organic electronic materials and biological systems. Now, it has been demonstrated that the σ–σ stacking interactions between neighbouring non-conjugated molecules can offer an efficient pathway for charge transport through supramolecular junctions, which provides a new guideline for the design and fabrication of organic materials and devices.

    • Anni Feng
    • , Yu Zhou
    •  & Wenjing Hong

  • News & Views |

    Charge transfer through DNA has been well studied over recent decades from both a biological and electronics perspective. It has now been shown that charge transfer can be accelerated one hundredfold by using highly energetic 'hot holes', revealing a new mechanism that could help to create useful electronic biomaterials.

    • D. N. Beratan
    •  & D. H. Waldeck

  • Article |

    Single-molecule junctions provide a unique platform to understand how molecular structure affects electronic transport. Now it has been shown that electronic transport through a π-stacked dimer can be precisely controlled when pulling it apart. This behaviour is caused by quantum interference effects that are turned ON or OFF depending on dimer conformation.

    • Riccardo Frisenda
    • , Vera A. E. C. Janssen
    •  & Nicolas Renaud

  • Article |

    The existence (or not) of electronic coherence in homopolymers is dependent on a balance between monomer–monomer interactions and environmental heterogeneity. Now, by understanding how even–odd orbital symmetry influences coherence and produces resistance oscillations as a function of distance—it is shown that DNA sequences can be designed to support coherent charge transport.

    • Chaoren Liu
    • , Limin Xiang
    •  & Nongjian Tao

  • Article |

    Understanding the correlation between structure and charge transport properties of a DNA-based single molecule device is crucial to the creation of nanoscale functional devices. Now, a DNA-based molecular rectifier with a high rectification ratio has been constructed by site-specific intercalation of small molecules (coralyne) into native double-stranded DNA.

    • Cunlan Guo
    • , Kun Wang
    •  & Bingqian Xu

  • News & Views |

    Molecules can transfer charge between electron donors and acceptors, and can also transport charge when connected between metallic electrodes. These processes are assumed to show generally similar trends, however, a significant departure from this has now been observed in a series of biphenyl bridges.

    • Gemma C. Solomon

  • Article |

    Charge transport in molecular systems is typically through coherent tunnelling over a short distance or incoherent hopping over a long distance. An intermediate regime between those two transport mechanisms has now been found for DNA systems with stacked guanine–cytosine sequences.

    • Limin Xiang
    • , Julio L. Palma
    •  & Nongjian Tao

  • Article |

    Understanding the intrinsic electronic properties of building blocks in conjugated materials can provide powerful design guidelines to control charge transport, such as tuning the nature of the charge carriers. Now, single-molecule transport studies of a family of oxidized oligothiophenes have shown that their molecular length determines the dominant carrier type.

    • Emma J. Dell
    • , Brian Capozzi
    •  & Luis M. Campos

  • News & Views |

    Quantitatively studying how the rate of a chemical reaction is affected by a reactant's atomic-scale environment is extremely challenging. This has now been achieved at the single-molecule level using scanning tunnelling microscopy to monitor tautomerization in an atomically well-defined environment.

    • Peter Liljeroth

  • Article |

    The rate of an intramolecular hydrogen transfer reaction in a single porphycene molecule resting on a copper surface can be controlled by placing a copper adatom close to it. Cooperativity effects are also observed in rows of porphycene molecules, where the reaction rate of each individual molecule depends on the precise tautomer state of its neighbours.

    • Takashi Kumagai
    • , Felix Hanke
    •  & Leonhard Grill

  • News & Views |

    Tying molecules together in a link results in tremendous stabilization of the radical species they can form. Six clearly distinguishable charged states — which can be interconverted reversibly — have now been observed in a densely cationic system.

    • David B. Amabilino

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