120th General Meeting of the KCS

Type Oral Presentation
Area Oral Presentation of Young Material Chemists
Room No. Room 214
Time THU 09:00-:
Code MAT.O-1
Subject Direct Writing of Molecular Junction Achieved by in situ Encapsulation of Liquid Metal Microelectrode with Photo-curable Polymers
Authors Seo Eun Byeon, Kim Miso, Hyo Jae Yoon*
Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Korea
Abstract Difficulty in forming geometrically well-defined, non-invasive and compliant electrical contact over molecular monolayers makes it challenging to achieve molecular-scale electronic devices that function in high yields and with good reproducibility. Moreover, none of previously reported methods to form organic-electrode contacts at nano- and micrometer scales demonstrated directly addressable contacts in an untethered form in ambient conditions without using cumbersome equipment and nanolithography. Here, we show that in situ encapsulation of liquid metal (eutectic Ga-In) microelectrode with a convenient photo-curable polymeric scaffold enables direct writing of high-yielding molecular junctions on self-assembled monolayers in ambient conditions. The formed junctions function in quantitative yields and afford tunneling currents with high reproducibility as well as low temperatures and bent conditions. Furthermore, the low wettability of polymeric scaffold brings about water-proof effect for junction measurements in aqueous environment. The results reported here promise a massively parallel printing technology for constructing integrated circuits based on individual molecules as an active electronic component.
E-mail byun429@korea.ac.kr