Carbon-Based Molecular Junctions for Practical Molecular Electronics

ConspectusThe field of molecular electronics has grown rapidly since its experimental realization in the late 1990s, with thousands of publications on how molecules can act as circuit components and the possibility of extending microelectronic miniaturization. Our research group developed molecular junctions (MJs) using conducting carbon electrodes and covalent bonding, which provide excellent temperature tolerance and operational lifetimes. A carbon-based MJ based on quantum mechanical tunneling for electronic music represents the world’s first commercial application of molecular electronics, with >3000 units currently in consumer hands. The all-carbon MJ consisting of aromatic molecules and oligomers between vapor-deposited carbon electrodes exploits covalent, C–C bonding which avoids the electromigration problem of metal contacts. The high bias and temperature stability as well as partial transparency of the all-carbon MJ permit a wide range of experiments to determine charge transport mechanisms and observe photoeffects to both characterize and stimulate operating MJs. As shown in the Conspectus figure, our group has reported a variety of electronic functions, many of which do not have analogs in conventional semiconductors. Much of the described research is oriented toward the rational design of electronic functions, in which electronic characteristics are determined by molecular structure.In addition to the fabrication of molecular electronic devices with sufficient stability and operating life for practical applications, our approach was directed at two principal questions: how do electrons move through molecules that are components of an electronic circuit, and what can we do with molecules that we cannot do with existing semiconductor technology? The central component is the molecular junction consisting of a 1–20+ nm layer of covalently bonded oligomers between two electrodes of conducting, mainly sp2-hybridized carbon. In addition to describing the unique junction structure and fabrication methods, this Account summarizes the valuable insights available from photons used both as probes of device structure and dynamics and as prods to stimulate resonant transport through molecular orbitals.Short-range (<5 nm) transport by tunneling and its properties are discussed separately from the longer-range transport (5–60 nm) which bridges the gap between tunneling and transport in widely studied organic semiconductors. Most molecular electronic studies deal with the <5 nm thickness range, where coherent tunneling is generally accepted as the dominant transport mechanism. However, the rational design of devices in this range by changing molecular structure is frustrated by electronic interactions with the conducting contacts, resulting in weak structural effects on electronic behavior. When the molecular layer thickness exceeds 5 nm, transport characteristics change completely since molecular orbitals become the conduits for transport. Incident photons can stimulate transport, with the observed photocurrent tracking the absorption spectrum of the molecular layer. Low-temperature, activationless transport of photogenerated carriers is possible for up to at least 60 nm, with characteristics completely distinct from coherent tunneling and from the hopping mechanisms proposed for organic semiconductors. The Account closes with examples of phenomena and applications enabled by molecular electronics which may augment conventional microelectronics with chemical functions such as redox charge storage, orbital transport, and energy-selective photodetection

Structure Controlled Long-Range Sequential Tunneling in Carbon-Based Molecular Junctions

Carbon-based molecular junctions consisting of aromatic oligomers between conducting sp² hybridized carbon electrodes exhibit structure-dependent current densities (<i>J</i>) when the molecular layer thickness (<i>d</i>) exceeds ∼5 nm. All four of the molecular structures examined exhibit an unusual, nonlinear ln <i>J vs</i> bias voltage (<i>V</i>) dependence which is not expected for conventional coherent tunneling or activated hopping mechanisms. All molecules exhibit a weak temperature dependence, with <i>J</i> increasing typically by a factor of 2 over the range of 200–440 K. Fluorene and anthraquinone show linear plots of ln <i>J vs d</i> with nearly identical <i>J</i> values for the range <i>d</i> = 3–10 nm, despite significant differences in their free-molecule orbital energy levels. The observed current densities for anthraquinone, fluorene, nitroazobenzene, and bis-thienyl benzene for <i>d</i> = 7–10 nm show no correlation with occupied (HOMO) or unoccupied (LUMO) molecular orbital energies, contrary to expectations for transport mechanisms based on the offset between orbital energies and the electrode Fermi level. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy of molecular layers bonded to carbon electrodes revealed internal energy levels of the chemisorbed films and also indicated limited delocalization in the film interior. The observed current densities correlate well with the observed UV–vis absorption maxima for the molecular layers, implying a transport mechanism determined by the HOMO–LUMO energy gap. We conclude that transport in carbon-based aromatic molecular junctions is consistent with multistep tunneling through a barrier defined by the HOMO–LUMO gap, and not by charge transport at the electrode interfaces. In effect, interfacial “injection” at the molecule/electrode interfaces is not rate limiting due to relatively strong electronic coupling, and transport is controlled by the “bulk” properties of the molecular layer interior

Solid State Spectroelectrochemistry of Redox Reactions in Polypyrrole/Oxide Molecular Heterojunctions

To understand the mechanism of bias-induced resistance switching observed in polypyrrole (PPy) based solid state junctions, in situ UV–vis absorption spectroscopy was employed to monitor oxidation states within PPy layers in solution and in PPy/metal oxide junctions. For PPy layers in acetonitrile, oxidation led primarily to cationic polaron formation, while oxidation in 0.1 M NaOH in H₂O resulted in imine formation, caused by deprotonation of polarons. On the basis of these results in solution, spectroelectrochemistry was used to monitor bias-induced formation of polarons and imines in PPy layers incorporated into solid state carbon/PPy/Al₂O₃/Pt junctions. A positive bias on the carbon electrode caused PPy oxidation, with the formation of polaron and imine species strongly dependent on the surrounding environment. The spectral changes associated with polarons or imines were stable for at least several hours after the applied bias, while a negative bias reversed the absorbance changes back to the initial PPy spectrum. These results indicate that PPy can be oxidized in nominally solid state devices, and the formation of stable polarons is dependent on the tendency for deprotonation of the polaron to the imine. Since PPy conductivity depends strongly on the polaron concentration, monitoring its concentration is critical to determining resistance switching mechanisms. Furthermore, the importance of ion mobility and OH^– generation through H₂O reduction at the Pt contact are discussed

Assembling Molecular Electronic Junctions One Molecule at a Time

Diffusion of metal atoms onto a molecular monolayer attached to a conducting surface permits electronic contact to the molecules with minimal heat transfer or structural disturbance. Surface-mediated metal deposition (SDMD) involves contact between “cold” diffusing metal atoms and molecules, due to shielding of the molecules from direct exposure to metal vapor. Measurement of the current through the molecular layer during metal diffusion permits observation of molecular conductance for junctions containing as few as one molecule. Discrete conductance steps were observed for 1–10 molecules within a monolayer during a single deposition run, corresponding to “recruitment” of additional molecules as the contact area between the diffusing Au layer and molecules increases. For alkane monolayers, the molecular conductance measured with SDMD exhibited an exponential dependence on molecular length with a decay constant (β) of 0.90 per CH₂ group, comparable to that observed by other techniques. Molecular conductance values were determined for three azobenzene molecules, and correlated with the offset between the molecular HOMO and the contact Fermi level, as expected for hole-mediated tunneling. Current–voltage curves were obtained during metal deposition showed no change in shape for junctions containing 1, 2, and 10 molecules, implying minimal intermolecular interactions as single molecule devices transitioned into several molecules devices. SDMD represents a “soft” metal deposition method capable of providing single molecule conductance values, then providing quantitative comparisons to molecular junctions containing 10⁶ to 10¹⁰ molecules

Characterization of Growth Patterns of Nanoscale Organic Films on Carbon Electrodes by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Electrochemical deposition of aromatic organic molecules by reduction of diazonium reagents enables formation of molecular layers with sufficient integrity for use in molecular electronic junctions of interest to microelectronics. Characterization of organic films with thicknesses in the 1–10 nm range is difficult with Raman spectroscopy, since most molecular structures of electronic interest have Raman cross sections which are too small to observe as either thin films on solid electrodes or within intact molecular junctions. Layer formation on a 10 nm thick Ag island film on a flat carbon surface (eC/Ag) permitted acquisition of structural information using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), in many cases for molecules with weak Raman scattering. Raman spectra obtained on eC/Ag surfaces were indistinguishable from those on carbon without Ag present, and the spectra of oligomeric molecular layers were completely consistent with those of the monomers. Layer growth was predominantly linear for cases where such growth was sterically allowed, and linear growth correlated strongly with the line width and splitting of the CC phenyl ring stretches. Molecular bilayers made by successive reduction of different diazonium reagents were also observable and will be valuable for applications of 1–20 nm organic films in molecular electronics

Orbital Control of Photocurrents in Large Area All-Carbon Molecular Junctions

Photocurrents generated by illumination of carbon-based molecular junctions were investigated as diagnostics of how molecular structure and orbital energies control electronic behavior. Oligomers of eight aromatic molecules covalently bonded to an electron-beam deposited carbon surface were formed by electrochemical reduction of diazonium reagents, with layer thicknesses in the range of 5–12 nm. Illumination through either the top or bottom partially transparent electrodes produced both an open circuit potential (OCP) and a photocurrent (PC), and the polarity and spectrum of the photocurrent depended directly on the relative positions of the frontier orbitals and the electrode Fermi level (<i>E</i>_F). Electron donors with relatively high HOMO energies yielded positive OCP and PC, and electron acceptors with LUMO energies closer to <i>E</i>_F than the HOMO energy produced negative OCP and PC. In all cases, the PC spectrum and the absorption spectrum of the oligomer in the molecular junction had very similar shapes and wavelength maxima. Asymmetry of electronic coupling at the top and bottom electrodes due to differences in bonding and contact area cause an internal potential gradient which controls PC and OCP polarities. The results provide a direct indication of which orbital energies are closest to <i>E</i>_F and also indicate that transport in molecular junctions thicker than 5 nm is controlled by the difference in energy of the HOMO and LUMO orbitals

Light Emission as a Probe of Energy Losses in Molecular Junctions

Visible light emission was observed for molecular junctions containing 5–19 nm thick layers of aromatic molecules between carbon contacts and correlated with their current–voltage behaviors. Their emission was compared to that from Al/AlOx/Au tunnel junctions, which has been previously attributed to transport of carriers across the AlOx layer to yield “hot carriers” which emit light as they relax within the Au contact. The maximum emitted photon energy is equal to the applied bias for the case of coherent tunneling, and such behavior was observed for light emission from AlOx and thin (<5 nm) molecular junctions. For thicker films, the highest energy observed for emitted photons is less than <i>eV</i>_app and exhibits an energy loss that is strongly dependent on molecular layer structure and thickness. For the case of nitroazobenzene junctions, the energy loss is linear with the molecular layer thickness, with a slope of 0.31 eV/nm. Energy loss rules out coherent tunneling as a transport mechanism in the thicker films and provides a direct measure of the electron energy after it traverses the molecular layer. The transition from elastic transport in thin films to “lossy” transport in thick films confirms that electron hopping is involved in transport and may provide a means to distinguish between various hopping mechanisms, such as activated electron transport, variable range hopping, and Poole Frankel transport

Direct Optical Determination of Interfacial Transport Barriers in Molecular Tunnel Junctions

Molecular electronics seeks to build circuitry using organic components with at least one dimension in the nanoscale domain. Progress in the field has been inhibited by the difficulty in determining the energy levels of molecules after being perturbed by interactions with the conducting contacts. We measured the photocurrent spectra for large-area aliphatic and aromatic molecular tunnel junctions with partially transparent copper top contacts. Where no molecular absorption takes place, the photocurrent is dominated by internal photoemission, which exhibits energy thresholds corresponding to interfacial transport barriers, enabling their direct measurement in a functioning junction

Internal Electric Field Modulation in Molecular Electronic Devices by Atmosphere and Mobile Ions

The internal potential profile and electric field are major factors controlling the electronic behavior of molecular electronic junctions consisting of ∼1–10 nm thick layers of molecules oriented in parallel between conducting contacts. The potential profile is assumed linear in the simplest cases, but can be affected by internal dipoles, charge polarization, and electronic coupling between the contacts and the molecular layer. Electrochemical processes in solutions or the solid state are entirely dependent on modification of the electric field by electrolyte ions, which screen the electrodes and form the ionic double layers that are fundamental to electrode kinetics and widespread applications. The current report investigates the effects of mobile ions on nominally solid-state molecular junctions containing aromatic molecules covalently bonded between flat, conducting carbon surfaces, focusing on changes in device conductance when ions are introduced into an otherwise conventional junction design. Small changes in conductance were observed when a polar molecule, acetonitrile, was present in the junction, and a large decrease of conductance was observed when both acetonitrile (ACN) and lithium ions (Li⁺) were present. Transient experiments revealed that conductance changes occur on a microsecond–millisecond time scale, and are accompanied by significant alteration of device impedance and temperature dependence. A single molecular junction containing lithium benzoate could be reversibly transformed from symmetric current–voltage behavior to a rectifier by repetitive bias scans. The results are consistent with field-induced reorientation of acetonitrile molecules and Li⁺ ion motion, which screen the electrodes and modify the internal potential profile and provide a potentially useful means to dynamically alter junction electronic behavior

Control of Electronic Symmetry and Rectification through Energy Level Variations in Bilayer Molecular Junctions

Two layers of molecular oligomers were deposited on flat carbon electrode surfaces by electrochemical reduction of diazonium reagents, then a top contact applied to complete a solid-state molecular junction containing a molecular bilayer. The structures and energy levels of the molecular layers included donor molecules with relatively high energy occupied orbitals and acceptors with low energy unoccupied orbitals. When the energy levels of the two molecular layers were similar, the device had electronic characteristics similar to a thick layer of a single molecule, but if the energy levels differed, the current voltage behavior exhibited pronounced rectification. Higher current was observed when the acceptor molecule was biased negatively in eight different bilayer combinations, and the direction of rectification was reversed if the molecular layers were also reversed. Rectification persisted at very low temperature (7 K), and was activationless between 7 and 100 K. The results are a clear example of a “molecular signature” in which electronic behavior is directly affected by molecular structure and orbital energies. The rectification mechanism is discussed, and may provide a basis for rational design of electronic properties by variation of molecular structure