Adv. Mater.: Robust Sub-5 Nanometer bis(Diarylcarbene)-Based Thin Film for Molecular Electronics and Plasmonics

Title：

Robust Sub-5 Nanometer bis(Diarylcarbene)-Based Thin Film for Molecular Electronics and Plasmonics

Authors：

Wenrui Xu^1#, Dandan Wang^2#, Qianqian Guo¹, Shu Zhu¹, Lan Zhang¹, Tao Wang¹, Mark G. Moloney^2,3*, Wei Du^1,*

Institutions：

¹Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China

²Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research, Building A, 388 Ruo Shui Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu, 215123, P.R. China

³Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.

Abstract：

In miniaturized electronic and optoelectronic circuits, molecular tunnel junctions have attracted enormous research interest due to their small footprint, low power consumption, and rich molecular functions. However, the most popular building blocks used in contemporary molecular tunnel junctions are thiol molecules, which attach to electrode surfaces via a metal-thiolate (MS) bond, showing low stability and usually quick degradation within several days. To pave the way for more widely applicable and stable molecular tunnel junctions, there is a need to develop new molecular anchoring groups. Here, this work demonstrates robust and air-stable molecular tunnel junctions with a sub-5 nanometer bis(diarylcarbene)-based thin film as the tunneling barrier, which anchors to the electrode surface via a Au−C bond. The bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular tunnel junctions exhibit high thermal stability against heating up to 200 °C and long storage lifetime over 5 months in an ambient environment. Both electrical and optical performance of these bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular junctions are characterized systematically, showing similar behaviors to thiol-based junctions as well as largely improved emission stability. This research highlights the excellent performance of bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular tunnel junctions, which could be useful for applications in molecular electronics and plasmonics.

IF：

32.086

Link：

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202303057