Transport through a Single Octanethiol Molecule
(Result of the month 02/2010)

 
(A) I(t) transient recorded on an octanethiolate molecule that is adsorbed on a Pt chain. The trace is recorded at constant height. The sample bias is 1.5 V. The current jumps back and forth between the current set point (1 nA) and a much higher current of 11 nA. We have measured residence times up to 40 s and currents in the range of 10-15 nA. The current jumps are caused by the octanethiolate molecule that wags its tail and subsequently contacts the STM tip, as indicated by the schematic drawings in panels B and C. The surface in panels B and C are 3D views of a constant current STM image; the molecule and the STM tip are drawn.
Octanethiol molecules adsorbed on Pt chains are studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy at 77 K. The head of the octanethiol binds to a Pt atom and the tail is lying flat down on the chain. Open-loop current time traces reveal that the molecule wags its tail and attaches to the scanning tunneling microscopy-tip resulting in a dramatic increase of the current. We measured a single molecule resistance of 100-150 MΩ.
Constant current STM image (25 nm × 25 nm; VS ) -0.90 V; I ) 0.5 nA) of a Pt-modified Ge(001) surface after exposure to 60 L of octanethiol, recorded at 77 K (A). The octanethiol molecules (circular white spots) almost exclusively adsorb on the Pt atomic chains. In panel B, we show a model of the region enclosed by the square in panel A. Grey dumbbells are substrate dimers, dark dumbbells are Pt dimers, and the adsorbed molecule is shown in orange.
We used I(V) spectroscopy in order to identify the head and the tail of the octanethiol molecule.
I(V) characteristics taken on two different parts of an octanethiolate molecule adsorbed on a Pt chain, as indicated by the blue dot and the red triangle in the STM image of panel A. Panel B shows a detailed view of the voltage window from 0 to 0.4 V. We ascribe the curve with the highest current ratio (red) to the sulfur-side of the molecule and the blue curve to the octane-side of the molecule.


Authors:
Daan Kockmann, Bene Poelsema and Harold J.W. Zandvliet

Institutes:
Physical Aspects of NanoElectronics and Solid State Physics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology,
University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217,
7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Institute web-pages:
http://pne.tnw.utwente.nl/

Publication:
D. Kockmann, B. Poelsema, H.J.W. Zandvliet, Nano Lett., Vol. 9, 1147-1151, 2009.

URL of Journal:
http://pubs.acs.org/

 
This result has been obtained with :
LT STM

 download as pdf

 
 
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