Science Daily May 24, 2018
An international team of researchers (Germany, Switzerland) developed a method that allowed them to create precise electrical contacts with molecules in strong optical fields and to control them using an applied voltage. At a potential difference of around one volt, the molecule becomes flat, conductive and scatters light. The molecules were arranged on a metal surface and contacted using the corner of a glass fragment with a very thin metal coating as a tip which serves as an electrical contact, light source and light collector, all in one. The researchers used the fragment to direct laser light to the molecule and measure tiny spectroscopic signals that vary with the applied voltage. With this they can observe even the smallest structural changes in molecules with great precision. Such nanoswitches can serve as the basis for a pioneering class of devices that could replace silicon-based components with organic molecules… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
A research team at the Technical University of Munich has developed molecular nanoswitches that can be toggled between two structurally different states using an applied voltage. Credit: Yuxiang Gong / TUM / Journal of the American Chemical Society