Thiophene-based Tripodal Anchor Units for Hole Transport in Single-Molecule Junctions with Gold Electrodes

摘要

Molecule-metal junctions are inevitable for the realization of single-molecule electronics. In this study, we developed new tripodal anchors with electron-rich aromatic rings to achieve robust contact with gold electrodes, an effective hybridization of the it orbital with gold electrodes (pi channel), and hole transport through pi-channel hybridization. Cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the monolayers indicated that the thiophene-based tripodal molecule exhibits anchoring characteristics as expected. The electrical conductance of thiophene-anchored bistripodal molecules using the scanning tunneling microscope (STM)-based break junction technique confirmed the formation of molecular junctions. The Seebeck coefficient of this compound estimated from thermoelectric voltage measurements using a STM was determined to be a positive value, which indicates that the charge carriers are holes. On the contrary, the corresponding pyridine-anchored molecules showed electron transport. These results reveal the versatility of it-channel tripodal anchors for the control single-molecule electronics.