Description
Introduction to Molecular Electronics:
The large toolbox provided by synthetic chemistry makes it possible to design molecules with inbuilt functionalities such as switches, transistors, rectifiers, sensors etc. The incorporation of functional molecules as active elements in electrical circuits may serve as technology for building integrated circuits on the nanoscale. One of the most commonly studied units is a single molecule junction in which the molecule is contacted to two metal electrodes. At first we will discuss the most popular methods for producing and characterizing the transport properties of single-molecule junctions. particular interest has to be payed to the electronic properties of the molecule metal binding. We will give an overview over the status of the field and give examples of realized functionalities, including optically and mechanically switchable molecules.