Light-Driven Charge Transport and Optical Sensing in Molecular Junctions

Probing charge and energy transport in molecular junctions (MJs) has not only enabled a fundamental understanding of quantum transport at the atomic and molecular scale, but it also holds significant promise for the development of molecular-scale electronic devices. Recent years have witnessed a rap...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-02, Vol.12 (4), p.698
Main Authors: Tang, Chaolong, Shiri, Mehrdad, Zhang, Haixin, Ayinla, Ridwan Tobi, Wang, Kun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charge transport
Design of experiments
Electric fields
Electronic devices
Electronic equipment
Energy charge
Experimental design
Light
Light emitting diodes
MATERIALS SCIENCE
molecular junctions
Molecular structure
Optoelectronics
Photoelectric emission
photoemission
photoswitch
plasmonics
Quantum transport
Raman sensing
Research methodology
Review
Self-assembled monolayers
Self-assembly
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Summary:Probing charge and energy transport in molecular junctions (MJs) has not only enabled a fundamental understanding of quantum transport at the atomic and molecular scale, but it also holds significant promise for the development of molecular-scale electronic devices. Recent years have witnessed a rapidly growing interest in understanding light-matter interactions in illuminated MJs. These studies have profoundly deepened our knowledge of the structure-property relations of various molecular materials and paved critical pathways towards utilizing single molecules in future optoelectronics applications. In this article, we survey recent progress in investigating light-driven charge transport in MJs, including junctions composed of a single molecule and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of molecules, and new opportunities in optical sensing at the single-molecule level. We focus our attention on describing the experimental design, key phenomena, and the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, topics presented include light-assisted charge transport, photoswitch, and photoemission in MJs. Emerging Raman sensing in MJs is also discussed. Finally, outstanding challenges are explored, and future perspectives in the field are provided.
ISSN:2079-4991
2079-4991
DOI:10.3390/nano12040698