Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Molecular junctions

Seeing is believing

Nature Nanotechnology volume 3, pages 187–188 (2008)Cite this article

The ability to perform optical measurements on a single molecule placed between two electrodes while also measuring the current flowing through it could herald a new generation of experiments on molecular junctions.

Understanding and controlling electron transport through single molecules attached to metal electrodes could lead to the further miniaturization of electronic components and devices. In the past decade, significant experimental progress has been made in constructing such 'molecular junctions' and probing their electronic properties1,2,3. However, the details of the electronic pathways through a molecular junction depend critically on structural details at the atomic scale. It is expected that the electronic properties of junctions are affected by bond lengths, binding geometry and the structure4 of the molecule, but there is a clear need for other types of measurement to shed new light on these systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A closer look at measurements from a molecular junction.

© 2008 ACS

References

  1. Reed, M. A., Zhou, C., Muller, C. J., Burgin, T. P. & Tour, J. M. Science 278, 252–254 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Park, J. et al. Nature 417, 722–725 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Liang, W. J., Shores, M. P., Bockrath, M., Long, J. R. & Park, H. Nature 417, 725–729 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Venkataraman, L., Klare, J. E., Nuckolls, C., Hybertsen, M. S. & Steigerwald, M. L. Nature 442, 904–907 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ward, D. R. et al. Nano Lett. 10.1021/nl073346h (2008).

  6. Fleischmann, M., Hendra, P. J. & McQuillan, A. J. Chem. Phys. Lett. 26, 163–166 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Michaels, A. M., Jiang, J. & Brus, L. J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 11965–11971 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Fromm, D. P. et al. J. Chem. Phys. 124, 061101 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Latha Venkataraman is in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA lv2117@columbia.edu,

    Latha Venkataraman

Authors
  1. Latha Venkataraman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Venkataraman, L. Seeing is believing. Nature Nanotech 3, 187–188 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.81

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.81

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Find nanotechnology articles, nanomaterial data and patents all in one place. Visit Nano by Nature Research