Conformation-dependent electron transport through a biphenyl molecule: Circular current and related issues

TL;DR

This paper explores how the conformation of a biphenyl molecule affects electron transport and circular currents, highlighting potential applications in molecular spintronics.

Contribution

It introduces a simple tight-binding model to analyze conformation-dependent electron transfer and circular currents in biphenyl molecules, suggesting new avenues for molecular spintronic device design.

Findings

Circular currents depend on molecular conformation.

Electron transfer varies with applied bias voltage.

Potential for organic molecules with loop structures in spintronics.

Abstract

We investigate the conformation-dependent electron transfer in a biphenyl molecule within a simple tight-binding framework. The overall junction current and circular currents in two benzene rings driven by applied bias voltage are calculated by using Green's function formalism. Our analysis may provide the possibilities of using organic molecules with loop substructures to design molecular spintronic devices, indicating the emergence of molecular spintronics.