Extensive evidence has shown that long-range charge transport can occur along double helical DNA, but, for electronic applications, one wishes to switch the charge transport between different states. Here we demonstrate conductance switching in single DNA molecule by replacing a DNA base with a redox group. By applying an electrochemical gate voltage to the molecule, we switch the redox group between the oxidation and reduction states, leading to reversible switching of the DNA conductance between two discrete levels. We further show that monitoring the individual conductance switching allows the study of redox reaction kinetics and thermodynamics at single molecular level using DNA as a probe.

Electrochemical gate-controlled conductance switching in DNA via STM break junction technique

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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