Nanoscopic electrode molecular probes
AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorsPredrag S. Krstic, Vincent Meunier
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for enhancing the electron transport property measurements of a molecule when the molecule is placed between chemically functionalized carbon-based nanoscopic electrodes to which a suitable voltage bias is applied. The invention includes selecting a dopant atom for the nanoscopic electrodes, the dopant atoms being chemically similar to atoms present in the molecule, and functionalizing the outer surface and terminations of the electrodes with the dopant atoms.
Claims43
A nanoscopic electrode system for measuring the electron transport properties of a single molecule of interest, the nanoscopic electrode system comprising at least two electrically interconnected electrically conductive nanoscopic electrodes separated by a nanosized gap suitably miniscule so as to permit transmission of current by a tunneling mechanism while large enough to accommodate the molecule of interest, the nanoscopic electrodes being outer-surface functionalized by one or more non-C,H main group dopant atoms residing in a location of the nanoscopic electrode at the nanosized gap, wherein the one or more non-C,H main group dopant atoms are not pendant and occupy a space within a lattice of the nanoscopic electrode surface.
A method for measuring an electron-transport property of a single molecule of interest, the method comprising:
- (i) positioning a molecule of interest within a nanosized gap separating at least two electrically conductive nanoscopic electrodes in such a manner that the molecule of interest bridges and interacts with the nanoscopic electrodes, wherein the nanosized gap is suitably miniscule so as to permit transmission of current through the molecule of interest by a tunneling mechanism while large enough to accommodate the molecule of interest;
- (ii) applying a voltage bias to the nanoscopic electrodes, the voltage bias being of a suitable magnitude so as to permit transmission of current by a tunneling mechanism;
- and
- (iii) measuring an electron transport property of the molecule of interest;
- wherein the nanoscopic electrodes are outer-surface functionalized by one or more non-C,H main group dopant atoms residing at the nanosized gap, wherein said non-C,H main group dopant atoms are selected so as to cause a non-covalent interaction between the non-C,H main group dopant atoms and said molecule of interest, and wherein application of a voltage bias to the nanoscopic electrodes results in conduction by a tunneling mechanism from said non-C,H main group dopant atom through said molecule of interest, wherein the molecule of interest interacts with dopant atoms of the nanoscopic electrodes by a non-covalent interaction to permit the molecule of interest to reversibly interact with the nanoscopic electrodes.
A method for producing a nanoscopic electrode system that enhances measurement of an electron transport property of a single molecule when the molecule is positioned between terminal ends of nanoscopic electrodes to which a low voltage bias is applied, the method comprising:
- functionalizing an outer surface of the terminal ends of said nanoscopic electrodes with non-C,H main group dopant atoms that will form a non-covalent interaction with said molecule, electrically interconnecting the functionalized nanoscopic electrodes, and arranging the functionalized nanoscopic electrodes to include a nanosized gap between said terminal ends to accommodate said molecule.
A method for enhancing an electron transport property measurement of a molecule being studied when the molecule is positioned between terminal ends of nanoscopic electrodes to which a low voltage is applied, the method comprising:
- functionalizing an outer surface of the terminal ends of said nanoscopic electrodes with non-C,H main group dopant atoms that will form a non-covalent interaction with said molecule, electrically interconnecting the functionalized nanoscopic electrodes, arranging the functionalized nanoscopic electrodes to include a nanosized gap between said terminal ends to accommodate said molecule, positioning said molecule in the nanosized gap to interact non-covalently with the terminal ends of said nanoscopic electrodes, and measuring the electron transport property of said molecule when the low voltage bias is applied between the nanoscopic electrodes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.