Identification of vibrational signatures from short chains of interlinked molecule-nanoparticle junctions obtained by inelastic electron tunnelling spectroscopy

• Short chains containing a series of metal- molecule-nanoparticle nanojunctions are a nano-materials system with the potential to give electrical signatures close to those from single molecule experiments while enabling to build portable devices on a chip. Inelastic electron tunnelling spectroscopy (IETS) measurements provide one of the most characteristic electrical signals of single and few molecules. In interlinked molecule-nanoparticle (NP) chains containing of typically 5-7 molecules in a chain, the spectrum is expected to be a superposition of the vibrational signature of individual molecules. We have established a stable and reproducible molecule-AuNP multi-junction by placing few 1,8-octanedithiol (ODT) molecules into a versatile and portable nanoparticle-nanoelectrode platform and measured for the first time vibrational molecular signatures complex and coupled few-molecule-NP junctions. From quantum transport calculations, we model the IETS spectra and identify vibrational modes as well as the number of molecules contributing to the electron transport in the measured spectra.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Teknisk fysik med inriktning mot materialvetenskap

Engineering Science with specialization in Materials Science

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)