Highly conductive molecular junctions based on direct binding of benzene to platinum electrodes

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates highly conductive molecular junctions formed by direct benzene binding to platinum electrodes, revealing stable, intact molecules with conductance comparable to metallic atomic junctions, and controlling conductance via molecular orientation.

Contribution

It introduces a method for creating stable, highly conductive benzene-based molecular junctions with direct Pt-carbon bonding, supported by experimental and theoretical analysis.

Findings

Conductance around 0.1-1 G0 comparable to metallic junctions

Stable junctions with intact benzene molecules

Conductance controlled by molecular orientation

Abstract

Highly conductive molecular junctions were formed by direct binding of benzene molecules between two Pt electrodes. Measurements of conductance, isotopic shift in inelastic spectroscopy and shot noise compared with calculations provide indications for a stable molecular junction where the benzene molecule is preserved intact and bonded to the Pt leads via carbon atoms. The junction has a conductance comparable to that for metallic atomic junctions (around 0.1-1 Go), where the conductance and the number of transmission channels are controlled by the molecule's orientation at different inter-electrode distances.