Herre van der Zant1
TU Delft1
Break junctions are a popular method to characterize the electrical properties of single moleucles [1]. However, the behaviour of a molecule in a junction is complicated and therefore difficult to assess experimentally. For example, the end to end single-molecule (fully stretched) configuration may not be the most probable one, while this is the benchmark in the comparison with theoretical calculations. So, the questions “What are the pathways for charge transport through a molecule and what is the conductance of the fully stretched molecule” can still not be answered in all cases. In this talk, I will discuss possible causes for the observed dispersion in the conductance histograms and show that by using unsupervised clustering methods, [2] preferably in combination with clever chemical engineering of molecule families, conduction pathways can be identified and the end-to-end single-molecule conduction can be established [3-6].<br/><br/>References<br/>[1] <i>Single-molecule quantum-transport phenomena in break junctions</i>, P. Gehring, J.M. Thijssen and H.S.J. van der Zant, Nature Reviews Physics <b>1</b> (2019) 381 – 396 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1038/s42254-019-0055-1).<br/>[2] <i>A reference-free clustering method for the analysis of molecular break-junction measurements</i>, D. Cabosart, M. El Abbassi, D. Stefani, R. Frisenda, M. Calame, H.S.J. van der Zant and M. L. Perrin, Applied Physics Letters <b>114</b> (2019) 143102 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1063/1.5089198).<br/>[3] <i>Unravelling the conductance path through single-porphyrin junctions, M. El Abbassi, P. Zwick</i>, A. Rates, D Stefani, A. Prescimone, M. Mayor, H.S.J. van der Zant and D. Dulić, Chem. Sci. <b>10</b> (2019) 8299 – 8305 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1039/c9sc02497b).<br/>[4] <i>Intermolecular Effects on Tunneling through Acenes in Large-area and Single-molecule Junctions</i>, Y. Liu, L. Ornago, M. Carlotti, Y. Ai, M. El Abbassi, S. Soni, A. Asyuda, M. Zharnikov, H.S.J. van der Zant and R.C. Chiechi, Phys. Chem. C <b>124</b> (2020) 22776 – 22783 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c05781).<br/>[5] <i>Conformation-dependent charge transport through short peptides</i>, D. Stefani, C. Guo, L. Ornago, D. Cabosart, M. El Abbassi, M. Sheves, D. Cahen and H.S.J. van der Zant, Nanoscale <b>13</b> (2021) 3002 – 3009 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1039/D0NR08556A).<br/>[6] <i>Benchmark study of alkane molecular chains</i>, F.H. van Veen, L. Ornago, H.S.J. van der Zant and M. El Abbassi, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C <b>126</b> (2022) 8801 − 8806 (<b>DOI:</b> 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c09684).