title: Role of redox centre in charge transport investigated by novel self-assembled conjugated polymer molecular junctions.
abstract: Molecular electronics describes a field that seeks to implement electronic components made of molecular building blocks. To date, few studies have used conjugated polymers in molecular junctions despite the fact that they potentially transport charge more efficiently than the extensively investigated small-molecular systems. Here we report a novel type of molecular tunnelling junction exploring the use of conjugated polymers, which are self-assembled into ultrathin films in a distinguishable 'planar' manner from the traditional vertically oriented small-molecule monolayers. Electrical measurements on the junctions reveal molecular-specific characteristics of the polymeric molecules in comparison with less conjugated small molecules. More significantly, we decorate redox-active functionality into polymeric backbones, demonstrating a key role of redox centre in the modulation of charge transport behaviour via energy level engineering and external stimuli, and implying the potential of employing tailor-made polymeric components as alternatives to small molecules for future molecular-scale electronics.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Zongrui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.|Department of Chemistry, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
authors.forename: Huanli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rune
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hviid
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.
authors.forename: Zhongming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Erjing
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kasper
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nørgaard
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.
authors.forename: Bo W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Laursen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Wenping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu