Visible light photooxidative performance of a high-nuclearity molecular bismuth vanadium oxide cluster

• Johannes Tucher and
• Carsten Streb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 711–716, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.83

• ][10]. POMs have attracted wide interest from researchers working in chemistry, biology, catalysis, molecular electronics and materials science [8][11][12][13]. In particular, POMs have been employed as photooxidation catalysts for the oxidation of a wide range of organic substrates such as alcohols

Influence of the solvent on the stability of bis(terpyridine) structures on graphite

• Daniela Künzel and
• Axel Groß

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 269–277, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.29

• formation of hydrogen-bonded organic networks is of technological interest for future applications such as molecular electronics, organic photovoltaics [1] or functionalized host–guest systems [2] that may be used in heterogeneous catalysis. As a model system for ordered organic adlayers, bis(terpyridines

Controlled deposition and combing of DNA across lithographically defined patterns on silicon

• Zeinab Esmail Nazari and
• Leonid Gurevich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 72–76, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.8

• DNA–peptide conjugates. We suggest this method as a simple yet reliable technique for depositing and aligning DNA and DNA derivatives across nanofabricated patterns. Keywords: AFM; DNA molecular combing; DNA–peptide complexes; molecular electronics; surface modification; Introduction DNA is the

Structural and electronic properties of oligo- and polythiophenes modified by substituents

• Simon P. Rittmeyer and
• Axel Groß

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 909–919, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.101

• charged polythiophenes demonstrate. Keywords: band gaps; conducting polymers; density functional theory calculations; molecular electronics; oligothiophenes; Introduction Since the first report about the electrical conductivity of doped polyacetylene (PA) in 1977 [1], significant efforts have been spent

• in studying organic polymers as an alternative to common inorganic semiconducting materials [2], as they can, e.g., form supramolecular architectures on surfaces [3][4] that can serve as building blocks in molecular electronics or can be used in the future solar-energy technology [5]. Although the

Current–voltage characteristics of single-molecule diarylethene junctions measured with adjustable gold electrodes in solution

• Bernd M. Briechle,
• Youngsang Kim,
• Philipp Ehrenreich,
• Artur Erbe,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Ulrich Groth and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 798–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.89

• : diarylethene; mechanically controllable break-junction; molecular electronics; photoswitching; single-molecule junctions; Introduction Charge transport in single-molecule devices is actively investigated with the aim to realize functional electronic circuits [1][2][3][4], such as switches [5], transistors [4

• characteristics displayed. Acknowledgements We thank Th. Kirchner and U. Eberlein for their contributions in the early phase of this work, A. Fischer for technical assistance, and S. Tibus for help in the data analysis. Helpful discussions with the Molecular Electronics Discussion Group of SFB767, in particular

Revealing thermal effects in the electronic transport through irradiated atomic metal point contacts

• Bastian Kopp,
• Zhiwei Yi,
• Daniel Benner,
• Fang-Qing Xie,
• Christian Obermair,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 703–711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.80

• two metallic tips both theoretically [4][5][6][7] and experimentally [4][8][9][10][11]. Furthermore the influence of the environment on the conductance of single-molecule junctions [12] has been revealed. In a next step towards molecular electronics, one would like to see such molecules exhibiting

Strong spin-filtering and spin-valve effects in a molecular V–C₆₀–V contact

• Mohammad Koleini and
• Mads Brandbyge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 589–596, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.69

• ]. The C60 molecule is considered as an attractive anchoring group for molecular electronics due to its mechanical robustness [8]. Moreover, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of C60 is close to the Fermi level of ferromagnetic elements which makes spin injection relatively easy [9], and

X-ray spectroscopy characterization of self-assembled monolayers of nitrile-substituted oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s with variable chain length

• Hicham Hamoudi,
• Ping Kao,
• Alexei Nefedov,
• David L. Allara and
• Michael Zharnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 12–24, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.2

• particular idea being actively investigated is molecular electronics, which involves the use of organic molecules as potential circuit elements or components, such as conductors, rectifiers, transistors, and logic gates [1][2]. An important structural element of all such device molecules is an electrically

• series. Considering the variety of electrically functional molecules of interest in molecular electronics, the class of molecules based on simple oligomers of phenylene–ethynylene units is of particular importance for several reasons. First, the OPE chain is one of the most effective conductors among the

• study provide important data that are relevant to the use of these types of “molecular wires” for applications in molecular-electronics devices, particularly with regard to studies of the dynamics of charge-transport behaviour. Experimental The NC-OPEn compounds were synthesized according to previous

When “small” terms matter: Coupled interference features in the transport properties of cross-conjugated molecules

• Gemma C. Solomon,
• Justin P. Bergfield,
• Charles A. Stafford and
• Mark A. Ratner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 862–871, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.95

• cross-conjugated molecules appears to be significantly more sensitive to perturbations than those observed in equivalent cyclic systems and this needs to be considered if such supernodes are required for molecular thermoelectric devices. Keywords: gDFTB; Hückel model; many-body effects; molecular

• electronics; quantum interference; thermoelectrics; topology; Introduction Destructive interference effects, such as nodes in the transmission function, are a signature of coherence and offer a possible avenue for tuning the transport properties of single-molecule junctions. While not present in all systems

Charge transport in a zinc–porphyrin single-molecule junction

• Mickael L. Perrin,
• Christian A. Martin,
• Ferry Prins,
• Ahson J. Shaikh,
• Rienk Eelkema,
• Jan H. van Esch,
• Jan M. van Ruitenbeek,
• Herre S. J. van der Zant and
• Diana Dulić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 714–719, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.77

• interpreted with care, and that the combination with I(V) spectroscopy represents an essential tool for a more detailed characterization of the charge transport in a single molecule. Keywords: mechanically controllable break junction; molecular conformation; molecular electronics; porphyrin; single-molecule

An MCBJ case study: The influence of π-conjugation on the single-molecule conductance at a solid/liquid interface

• Wenjing Hong,
• Hennie Valkenier,
• Gábor Mészáros,
• David Zsolt Manrique,
• Artem Mishchenko,
• Alexander Putz,
• Pavel Moreno García,
• Colin J. Lambert,
• Jan C. Hummelen and
• Thomas Wandlowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 699–713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.76

• current–distance and current–voltage measurements revealed details of the influence of π-conjugation on the single-molecule conductance. Keywords: anthraquinone; π-conjugation; mechanically controlled break junction; single-molecule conductance; Introduction Molecular electronics has expanded

Terthiophene on Au(111): A scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study

• Berndt Koslowski,
• Anna Tschetschetkin,
• Norbert Maurer,
• Elena Mena-Osteritz,
• Peter Bäuerle and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 561–568, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.60

• semiconductors. Especially, oligothiophenes are very promising candidates for molecular electronics and have been exploited to form organic field-effect transistors [1][2], optical switches [3], light emitting diodes [4], and solar cells [5][6][7]. To optimize the performance of such devices, the properties of

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopic imaging of patterned thiol monolayers

• Johannes Stadler,
• Thomas Schmid,
• Lothar Opilik,
• Phillip Kuhn,
• Petra S. Dittrich and
• Renato Zenobi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 509–515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.55

• biological membranes or of artificially structured surfaces, used in molecular electronics, determines their properties as well as their function. However, characterization is difficult due to the small size and the low number of the molecules that comprise these structures. Most techniques such as nuclear

• [9][10]. Moreover, thiols have been suggested as components in molecular electronics [11]. Thiols are commercially available in a wide chemical diversity and can easily be linked to a variety of (bio-)molecules using simple chemistry. Thus, they may be used to pattern and functionalize entire

Charge transfer through single molecule contacts: How reliable are rate descriptions?

• Denis Kast,
• L. Kecke and
• J. Ankerhold

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 416–426, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.47

• molecular electronics in the last decade. However, a theoretical description of molecular contacts as the building blocks of future devices is challenging, as it has to combine the properties of Fermi liquids in the leads with charge and phonon degrees of freedom on the molecule. Outside of ab initio

• or even superconducting metallic leads [2][3]. The objective is to exploit nonlinear transport properties of molecular junctions as the elementary units for a future molecular electronics. While the initial experiments were operated at room temperature, low temperatures down to the millikelvin range

• methodologies, starts with simplified models that are assumed to cover the relevant physical features. The intention then is to reveal fundamental processes characteristic for molecular electronics that give a qualitative description of observations from realistic samples, but provide also the basis for a

Manipulation of gold colloidal nanoparticles with atomic force microscopy in dynamic mode: influence of particle–substrate chemistry and morphology, and of operating conditions

• Samer Darwich,
• Karine Mougin,
• Akshata Rao,
• Enrico Gnecco,
• Shrisudersan Jayaraman and
• Hamidou Haidara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 85–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.10

• detection (colorimetric and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)). For different reasons gold particles are particularly attractive in this field. For instance, they are ideal electrodes for molecular electronics [22]. Gold clusters below 5 nm in size deposited onto thin metal oxides also exhibit

Oriented growth of porphyrin-based molecular wires on ionic crystals analysed by nc-AFM

• Thilo Glatzel,
• Lars Zimmerli,
• Shigeki Kawai,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Leslie-Anne Fendt and
• Francois Diederich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 34–39, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.4

• Abstract The growth of molecular assemblies at room temperature on insulating surfaces is one of the main goals in the field of molecular electronics. Recently, the directed growth of porphyrin-based molecular wires on KBr(001) was presented. The molecule–surface interaction associated with a strong dipole

• ; self assembly; Introduction One of the main challenges of artificial photosynthesis and molecular electronics is the controlled growth of molecules on the nanometer scale in a certain direction. For the construction of electronic devices, nanowires are essential components which provide an efficient

Scanning probe microscopy and related methods

• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 155–157, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.18

• example is the field of molecular electronics, where single molecules are investigated in order to perform specific tasks, e.g., molecular switches, molecular transistors or even molecular processors. In this area, STM and AFM have become essential tools to characterize the structure and function of