单分子电导测量技术及其影响因素

Techniques and Influencing Factors for Single Molecule Electronic Conductance Measurements

Molecular electronics is an important field for the application of nanotechnologies with an ultimate goal of building functional devices using single molecules or molecular arrays to realize the same functionality as macroscopic devices. To attain this goal, reliable techniques for measuring and manipulating electron transfer processes through single molecules are essential. There are various techniques and many environmental factors influencing single-molecule electronic conductance measurements. In this review, we first provide a detailed introduction and classification of the current well-accepted techniques in this field for measuring single-molecule conductance. All available techniques are summarized into two categories: the fixed junction technique and break junction technique. The break junction technique involves repeatedly forming and breaking molecular junctions by mechanically controlling a pair of electrodes moving into and out of contact in the presence of target molecules. Single-molecule conductance can be determined from the conductance plateaus that appear in typical conductance decay traces when molecules bind two electrodes during their separation process. In contrast, the fixed junction technique is to fix the distance between a pair of electrodes and measure the conductance fluctuations when a single molecule binds the two electrodes stochastically. Both techniques comprise different application methods and have been employed preferentially by different groups. Specific features of both techniques and their intrinsic advantages are compared and summarized in Section 4.