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Single-Molecule Conductance of Viologen–Cucurbit[8]uril Host–Guest Complexes

Zhang, W.; Gan, S.; Vezzoli, A.; Davidson, R.J.; Milan, D.C.; Luzyanin, K.V.; Higgins, S.J.; Nichols, R.J.; Beeby, A.; Low, P.J.; Li, B.; Niu, L.

Single-Molecule Conductance of Viologen–Cucurbit[8]uril Host–Guest Complexes Thumbnail


Authors

W. Zhang

S. Gan

A. Vezzoli

D.C. Milan

K.V. Luzyanin

S.J. Higgins

R.J. Nichols

P.J. Low

B. Li

L. Niu



Abstract

The local molecular environment is a critical factor which should be taken into account when measuring single-molecule electrical properties in condensed media or in the design of future molecular electronic or single molecule sensing devices. Supramolecular interactions can be used to control the local environment in molecular assemblies and have been used to create microenvironments, for instance, for chemical reactions. Here, we use supramolecular interactions to create microenvironments which influence the electrical conductance of single molecule wires. Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) with a large hydrophobic cavity was used to host the viologen (bipyridinium) molecular wires forming a 1:1 supramolecular complex. Significant increases in the viologen wire single molecule conductances are observed when it is threaded into CB[8] due to large changes of the molecular microenvironment. The results were interpreted within the framework of a Marcus-type model for electron transfer as arising from a reduction in outer-sphere reorganization energy when the viologen is confined within the hydrophobic CB[8] cavity.

Citation

Zhang, W., Gan, S., Vezzoli, A., Davidson, R., Milan, D., Luzyanin, K., …Niu, L. (2016). Single-Molecule Conductance of Viologen–Cucurbit[8]uril Host–Guest Complexes. ACS Nano, 10(5), 5212-5220. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b00786

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 7, 2016
Online Publication Date Apr 19, 2016
Publication Date May 24, 2016
Deposit Date Apr 21, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal ACS Nano
Print ISSN 1936-0851
Electronic ISSN 1936-086X
Publisher American Chemical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 5
Pages 5212-5220
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b00786

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Copyright Statement
This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.







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