Large Amplitude Conductance Gating in a Wired Redox Molecule

Abstract

Further developments in the field of molecular electronics will require an understanding of the key relationships between chemical composition and subsequently observed electron transport characteristics. Although the relationship between redox activity and conductance gating has emerged in recent years, our ability to chemically engineer these characteristics (such as “on−off” switching magnitudes) is only now emerging. The report herein describes, to our knowledge, the first example of gated conductance in a single wired redox molecule in which a 3 orders of magnitude “on/off” switching ratio is observed. This switching magnitude significantly exceeds that observed with molecules weakly coupled to the supporting electrode and correlates directly with both electrochemical switching and an in situ determined heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant.