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Topic Name: A molecular-sized electronic switch.
Category: Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies
Research persons: Michael Trenary Group ,Satoshi Katano, Yousoo Kim, Masafumi Hori and Maki Kawai.
Location: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago,845 West Taylor Street,Chicago, IL 60607, United States
Details
The electronics industry believes that when it comes to circuits, smaller is
better -- and many foresee a future where electrical switches and circuits will
be as tiny as single molecules.
Turning this dream into reality may be a step closer, thanks to a collaboration
between chemists at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Japan's RIKEN
research institute. The international team successfully formed a single chemical
bond on a single molecule, then broke that bond to restore the original molecule
-- without disturbing any bonds to adjacent atoms within the molecule.
In essence, they created a molecular-sized electronic switch.
"The key thing we were after was reversibility," said Michael Trenary, UIC
professor of chemistry and one of the lead researchers.
Trenary's lab specializes in understanding the workings of surface chemistry --
notably how molecules interact with metals. RIKEN operates a nanoscience center
that offers a vibration-free platform for the tool called a scanning tunneling
microscope used to perform this molecular-level task. With the ability to cool
to temperatures approaching absolute zero to stabilize molecules, the microscope
is equipped with a probe that can then manipulate single molecules.
"Others have done work at the single-molecule level, but nobody has been able to
get the control we have," said Trenary.
Working at RIKEN, Trenary and his Japanese colleagues converted methylisocyanide
to methylaminocarbyne on a platinum surface -- a chemical mix that holds
particular promise in the field of molecular electronics.
Methylisocyanide was introduced as a gas into the microscope's vacuum chamber,
and the molecules attached to the super-cooled platinum. Next, hydrogen gas was
injected, which breaks up into atoms when it contacts the platinum. The hydrogen
atoms bonded to the methylisocyanide to form methylaminocarbyne.
The microscope can image single molecules and atoms. Using its tiny probe, the
researchers manipulated the tip to just above a single molecule and gave it a
small electrical pulse. The hydrogen atom popped off -- reversibility was
achieved.
"It's a way to alter the metal-molecular contact, which is why it's of interest
to those in molecular electronics," Trenary said. "There's been a fair amount of
research on using isocyanides for molecular electronics, but without
understanding the details of the bonding interaction."
"You've got to first understand the surface chemistry in detail," he said. "When
you understand that, then you can use these probes to manipulate, fine-tune and
control the way you want to."
About The Researchers-
Michael Trenary
Professor
Physical Chemistry
Born 1956; BS, University of California, Berkeley, 1978; PhD, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1982; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pittsburgh,
1982-1984; Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, 1989-1994; University of
Illinois Junior Scholar, 1990-1993.
Office: 5324 SES
Office telephone: 312-996-0777
Laboratory telephone: 312-996-5424
Fax: 312-996-0431
Electronic mail: mtrenary@uic.edu
Website: http://www.chem.uic.edu/mtrenary
Yousoo Kim
Senior Research Scientist
Surface Chemistry Laboratory
Discovery Research Institute
Yousoo Kim was born in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in 1968. In 1991, he
graduated from the Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, and
obtained his masters at the same university in 1993. In 1999, he earned his
doctorate in applied chemistry at the University of Tokyo. In the same year, he
joined the Surface Chemistry Laboratory at the RIKEN Discovery Research
Institute as a research associate, and six months later became a special
postdoctoral researcher. In 2002, he was promoted to research scientist. Since
2006, he has been serving as a senior research scientist at the same laboratory.
Research chemists from RIKEN include Satoshi Katano, Yousoo Kim, Masafumi Hori
and Maki Kawai.
The findings were reported in the June 29 issue of Science.
Funded:
Funding for UIC's research was provided by the
National Science Foundation.
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