Determination of electric and thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions by AFM in peak force tapping mode

Wang, Xintai and Lamantia, Angelo and Jay, Michael and Sadeghi, Hatef and Lambert, Colin and Kolosov, Oleg and Robinson, Benjamin (2023) Determination of electric and thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions by AFM in peak force tapping mode. Nanotechnology, 34 (38): 385704. ISSN 0957-4484

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Abstract

Molecular thin films, such as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), offer the possibility of translating the optimised thermophysical and electrical properties of high-Seebeck-coefficient single molecules to scalable device architectures. However, for many scanning probe-based approaches attempting to characterise such SAMs, there remains a significant challenge in recovering single-molecule equivalent values from large-area films due to the intrinsic uncertainty of the probe-sample contact area coupled with film damage caused by contact forces. Here we report a new reproducible non-destructive method for probing the electrical and thermoelectric properties of small assemblies (10 – 103) of thiol-terminated molecules arranged within a SAM on a gold surface, and demonstrate the successful and reproducible measurements of the equivalent single-molecule electrical conductivity and Seebeck values. We have used a modified thermal-electric force microscopy (TEFM) approach, which integrates the conductive-probe atomic force microscope, a sample positioned on a temperature-controlled heater, and a probe-sample peak-force feedback that interactively limits the normal force across the molecular junctions. The experimental results are interpreted by density functional theory calculations allowing quantification the electrical quantum transport properties of both single molecules and small clusters of molecules. Significantly, this approach effectively eliminates lateral forces between probe and sample, minimising disruption to the SAM while enabling simultaneous mapping of the SAMs nanomechanical properties, as well as electrical and/or thermoelectric response, thereby allowing correlation of the film properties.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Nanotechnology
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Research Output Funding/yes_externally_funded
Subjects:
?? yes - externally fundedyesbioengineeringmechanics of materialsgeneral materials sciencegeneral chemistrymechanical engineeringelectrical and electronic engineeringmaterials science(all)chemistry(all) ??
ID Code:
196546
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
10 Jul 2023 15:45
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
16 Jul 2024 12:04