State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Sci Adv. 2023 Feb 10;9(6):eadf0425. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf0425. Epub 2023 Feb 8.
Single-molecule electronics offer a unique strategy for the miniaturization of electronic devices. However, the existing experiments are limited to the conventional molecular junctions, where a molecule anchors to the electrode pair with linkers. With such a rod-like configuration, the minimum size of the device is defined by the length of the molecule. Here, by incorporating a single molecule with two single-layer graphene electrodes, we fabricated layer-by-layer single-molecule heterojunctions called single-molecule two-dimensional van der Waals heterojunctions (M-2D-vdWHs), of which the sizes are defined by the thickness of the molecule. We controlled the conformation of the M-2D-vdWHs and the cross-plane charge transport through them with the applied electric field and established that they can serve as reversible switches. Our results demonstrate that the M-2D-vdWHs, as stacked from single-layer 2D materials and a single molecule, can respond to electric field stimulus, which promises a diverse class of single-molecule devices with unprecedented size.
单分子电子学为电子设备的小型化提供了独特的策略。然而，现有的实验仅限于传统的分子结，其中分子通过链接器与电极对连接。在这种棒状结构中，器件的最小尺寸由分子的长度定义。在这里，我们通过将单个分子与两个单层石墨烯电极结合，制造了称为单分子二维范德华异质结 (M-2D-vdWH) 的层状单分子异质结，其尺寸由分子的厚度定义。我们通过施加电场控制 M-2D-vdWH 的构象和穿过它们的平面外电荷输运，并证明它们可以作为可逆开关。我们的结果表明，M-2D-vdWH 由单层 2D 材料和单个分子堆叠而成，可以响应电场刺激，这有望实现具有空前尺寸的各种单分子器件。
