title: Revealing the Conformational Dynamics in a Single-Molecule Junction by Site- and Angle-Resolved Dynamic Probe Method.
abstract: Single-molecule junctions have been extensively studied because of their high potential for future nanoscale device applications as well as their importance in basic studies for molecular science and technology. However, since the bonding sites at an electrode and the molecular tilt angles, for example, cannot be determined experimentally, analyses have been performed assuming the structures of such interactive key factors, with uncertainties and inconsistencies remaining in the proposed mechanisms. We have developed a methodology that enables the probing of conformational dynamics in single-molecule junctions simultaneously with the direct characterization of molecular bonding sites and tilt angles. This technique has revealed the elemental processes in single-molecule junctions, which have not been clarified using conventional methods. The mechanisms of the molecular dynamics in 1,4-benzenedithiol and 4,4'-bipyridine single-molecule junctions, which, for example, produce binary conductance switching of different types, were clearly discriminated and comprehensively explained.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taninaka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidemi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9550-5148
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shigekawa
keywords: molecular electronics; molecular junction; scanning tunneling microscopy; single molecule