Influence of the anchor group on charge transport through single-molecule junctions

The molecule-metal coupling in molecular junctions is investigated at the single-molecule level by anchoring a phenyl ring, using either thiol (Figure, A) or isocyanide (Figure, B) linkers, to two gold electrodes of a mechanically controllable break-junction. The transport properties of the single-molecule junctions are recorded while repeatedly forming and breaking the molecular junction. Thiol linkage results in a 50 % larger molecular-level broadening compared to isocyano linkage. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.