The design of nanoscale devices that combine multiple well-separated conductance states, room temperature operation, reproducible transport characteristics, and ease of implementation has been a key objective in the field of molecular electronics. In practice, the creation of such a functional device has proved to be a challenge. In this presentation, I will describe a molecular single-electron transistor that meets these requirements. We assemble each device by wiring different redox-active, atomically precise metal chalcogenide clusters between two nanoscopic electrodes using molecular connectors. We observe Coulomb blockade-like behavior at room temperature in thousands of single-cluster junctions, a consequence of the atomic precision, the small size, and the weak electronic coupling of the system. Below a threshold voltage, charge transfer across the junction is suppressed. The device is turned on when the temporary occupation of the core states by a transiting carrier is energetically enabled, resulting in a sequential tunneling process and an increase in current by a factor of ~600. These results provide a clear path to creating tunable single-electron transistors that function at room temperature through rational chemical design.

Room-temperature current blockade in atomically defined single-cluster junctions

255th National Meeting (2018)

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