Covalently Bridging Gaps in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Conducting Molecules

doi:10.1126/science.1120986

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Science 20 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5759, pp. 356 - 359
DOI: 10.1126/science.1120986

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Covalently Bridging Gaps in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Conducting Molecules

Xuefeng Guo,¹^,5 Joshua P. Small,²^,5 Jennifer E. Klare,¹^,5 Yiliang Wang,¹^,5 Meninder S. Purewal,⁴^,5 Iris W. Tam,¹^,5 Byung Hee Hong,²^,5 Robert Caldwell,⁴^,5 Limin Huang,⁴^,5 Stephen O'Brien,⁴^,5 Jiaming Yan,¹^,5 Ronald Breslow,¹^,5 Shalom J. Wind,⁴^,5 James Hone,³^,5 Philip Kim,²^,5^* Colin Nuckolls¹^,5^*

Molecular electronics is often limited by the poorly definednature of the contact between the molecules and the metal surface.We describe a method to wire molecules into gaps in single-walledcarbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Precise oxidative cutting of a SWNTproduces carboxylic acid–terminated electrodes separatedby gaps of $≤$ 10 nanometers. These point contacts react with moleculesderivatized with amines to form molecular bridges held in placeby amide linkages. These chemical contacts are robust and allowa wide variety of molecules to be tested electrically. In additionto testing molecular wires, we show how to install functionalityin the molecular backbone that allows the conductance of thesingle-molecule bridges to switch with pH.

¹ Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
² Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
⁴ Department of Applied Physics/Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
⁵ The Columbia University Center for Electronics of Molecular Nano-structures, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cn37{at}columbia.edu (C.N.), pkim{at}phys.columbia.edu (P.K.)

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