Issue 19, 2023

Silver electrodes provide higher conductance than gold for thiol-terminated oligosilane molecular junctions: the interfacial effect

Abstract

The understanding of the interfacial effect on charge transport is essential in single-molecule electronics. In this study, we elucidated the transport properties of molecular junctions comprising thiol-terminated oligosilane with three to eight Si atoms and two types of Ag/Au electrode materials employing different interfacial configurations. First-principles quantum transport calculations demonstrated that the interfacial configuration determines the relative magnitude of the current between the Ag and Au electrodes, wherein the Ag monoatomic contact configuration presented a larger current than did the Au double-atom configuration. Further, the mechanism of electron tunneling from the interfacial states through the central σ channel was revealed. In contrast to Au double-atom electrodes, Ag monoatomic electrodes exhibit a higher current due to the presence of Ag–S interfacial states closer to the Fermi level. Our findings show that the interfacial configuration is a plausible way to generate the relative magnitude of current of thiol-terminated oligosilane molecular junctions with Au/Ag electrodes and provide further insight into the interfacial effect on the transport properties.

Graphical abstract: Silver electrodes provide higher conductance than gold for thiol-terminated oligosilane molecular junctions: the interfacial effect

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Dec 2022
Accepted
26 Apr 2023
First published
01 May 2023

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023,25, 13673-13682

Silver electrodes provide higher conductance than gold for thiol-terminated oligosilane molecular junctions: the interfacial effect

M. Wang, X. Chen, W. Lu, X. Tian and G. Zhang, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 13673 DOI: 10.1039/D2CP06030B

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