Size-dependent single electron transfer and semi-metal-to-insulator transitions in molecular metal oxide electronics

• Published in: Nanotechnology 2018-07, Vol.29 (27), p.275204-275204
• Main Authors: Balliou, Angelika, Bouroushian, Mirtat, Douvas, Antonios M, Skoulatakis, George, Kennou, Stella, Glezos, Nikos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: insulator-to-semi-metal transitions (SMIT); molecular electronics; polyoxometalates; scanning tunneling microscopy (STM); single electron transfer
• ISSN: 0957-4484; 1361-6528
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aabdc3

All-inorganic self-arranged molecular transition metal oxide hyperstructures based on polyoxometalate molecules (POMs) are fabricated and tested as electronically tunable components in emerging electronic devices. POM hyperstructures reveal great potential as charging nodes of tunable charging level for molecular memories and as enhancers of interfacial electron/hole injection for photovoltaic stacks. STM, UPS, UV-vis spectroscopy and AFM measurements show that this functionality stems from the films' ability to structurally tune their HOMO-LUMO levels and electron localization length at room temperature. By adapting POM nanocluster size in solution, self-doping and current modulation of four orders of magnitude is monitored on a single nanocluster on SiO2 at voltages as low as 3 Volt. Structurally driven insulator-to-semi-metal transitions and size-dependent current regulation through single electron tunneling are demonstrated and examined with respect to the stereochemical and electronic structure of the molecular entities. This extends the value of self-assembly as a tool for correlation length and electronic properties tuning and demonstrate POM hyperstructures' plausibility for on-chip molecular electronics operative at room temperature.