Li Ying, Chandresh Abhinav, Lin Hung-Hsuan, Vankova Nina, Mutruc Dragos, Heine Thomas, Hecht Stefan, Heinke Lars
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arnimallee 22, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Adv Mater. 2025 Jul;37(26):e2419195. doi: 10.1002/adma.202419195. Epub 2025 Apr 7.
In the pursuit of more secure information transfer, advanced nanoelectronic technologies and nanomaterials must be developed. Here, a material is presented able to undergo an unprecedented light-pumped directional charge-transfer process reminiscent of toppling dominoes. The material is based on ortho-fluorinated azobenzene molecules which are organized in molecular rows by the regular array of a metal-organic framework. The azobenzene molecules undergo light-induced trans→cis forward as well as electrocatalytic cis→trans backward isomerization. The findings reveal that electron hopping occurs in a sequential and propagating manner between the light-generated cis isomers along with an isomerization of the sample to the trans-state. Thus, light can be used to locally write information, which subsequently can be read out by the transferred charge with simultaneous deletion of the information. This freely repeatable, self-erasing domino information transfer is a groundbreaking new mechanism to process information on the molecular level that may find application in encryption.
为了实现更安全的信息传输，必须开发先进的纳米电子技术和纳米材料。在此，我们展示了一种材料，它能够经历前所未有的光泵浦定向电荷转移过程，让人联想到多米诺骨牌的倾倒。该材料基于邻氟偶氮苯分子，这些分子通过金属有机框架的规则阵列排列成分子行。偶氮苯分子会发生光致反式→顺式正向以及电催化顺式→反式反向异构化。研究结果表明，光生顺式异构体之间会以连续且传播的方式发生电子跳跃，同时样品异构化为反式状态。因此，光可用于局部写入信息，随后可通过转移的电荷读出信息，同时删除该信息。这种可自由重复、自擦除的多米诺信息转移是一种开创性的新机制，可在分子水平上处理信息，可能在加密领域得到应用。
