Adv Mater. 2017 Jul;29(28). doi: 10.1002/adma.201701248. Epub 2017 May 17.

A Single-Molecular AND Gate Operated with Two Orthogonal Switching Mechanisms.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

Na Zhang, Wai-Yip Lo, Anex Jose, Zhengxu Cai, Lianwei Li, Luping Yu

PMID: 28512786 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201701248

Abstract

Single-molecular electronics is a potential solution to nanoscale electronic devices. While simple functional single-molecule devices such as diodes, switches, and wires are well studied, complex single-molecular systems with multiple functional units are rarely investigated. Here, a single-molecule AND logic gate is constructed from a proton-switchable edge-on gated pyridinoparacyclophane unit with a light-switchable diarylethene unit. The AND gate can be controlled orthogonally by light and protonation and produce desired electrical output at room temperature. The AND gate shows high conductivity when treated with UV light and in the neutral state, and low conductivity when treated either with visible light or acid. A conductance difference of 7.3 is observed for the switching from the highest conducting state to second-highest conducting state and a conductance ratio of 94 is observed between the most and least conducting states. The orthogonality of the two stimuli is further demonstrated by UV-vis, NMR, and density function theory calculations. This is a demonstration of concept of constructing a complex single-molecule electronic device from two coupled functional units.

© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Keywords: logic gates; molecular electronics; single-molecule junctions

Publication Types

• Journal Article