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Toward Multiple Conductance Pathways with Heterocycle-Based Oligo(phenyleneethynylene) Derivatives

Author(s):

Delia Miguel, Luis Á lvarez de Cienfuegos, Ana Martín-Lasanta, Sara P. Morcillo, Linda A. Zotti, Edmund Leary, Marius Bürkle, Yoshihiro Asai, Rocío Jurado, Diego J. Cardenas, Gabino Rubio-Bollinger, Nicolas Agrait, Juan M. Cuerva, Maria T. González

Journal:

Journal of The American Chemical Society

Year:

2015

Volume:

137

Pages

13818-13826

DOI:

10.1021/jacs.5b05637

Abstract:

In this paper, we have systematically studied how the replacement of a benzene ring by a heterocyclic compound in oligo(phenyleneethynylene) (OPE) derivatives affects the conductance of a molecular wire using the scanning tunneling microscope-based break junction technique. We describe for the first time how OPE derivatives with a central pyrimidine ring can efficiently link to the gold electrode by two pathways presenting two different conductance G values. We have demonstrated that this effect is associated with the presence of two efficient conductive pathways of different length: the conventional end-to-end configuration, and another with one of the electrodes linked directly to the central ring. This represents one of the few examples in which two defined conductive states can be set up in a single molecule without the aid of an external stimulus. Moreover, we have observed that the conductance through the full length of the heterocycle-based OPEs is basically unaffected by the presence of the heterocycle. All these results and the simplicity of the proposed molecules push forward the development of compounds with multiple conductance pathways, which would be a breakthrough in the field of molecular electronics.

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