Charge transport in photoswitchable dimethyldihydropyrene-type single-molecule junctions

J Am Chem Soc. 2013 Apr 24;135(16):5974-7. doi: 10.1021/ja401484j. Epub 2013 Apr 16.

Abstract

The conductance properties of a photoswitchable dimethyldihydropyrene (DHP) derivative have been investigated for the first time in single-molecule junctions using the mechanically controllable break junction technique. We demonstrate that the reversible structure changes induced by isomerization of a single bispyridine-substituted DHP molecule are correlated with a large drop of the conductance value. We found a very high ON/OFF ratio (>10(4)) and an excellent reversibility of conductance switching.