2011/10/31 by Lars Kecke, Joachim Ankerhold
Chemistry · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Charge (physics) #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Condensed matter physics #Coulomb #Current (fluid) #Electrochemical Analysis and Applications #Electron #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Intramolecular force #Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures #Molecular physics #Molecule #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Thermal fluctuations #Thermodynamics #Voltage #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.85.245442
published as Phys. Rev. B 85, 245442 (2012) · 6 pages, 8 figures
openalex publication_date 2012/06/25 · arxiv created 2012/06/26 · arxiv updated 2012/06/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Transport through molecular contacts with a sluggish intramolecular vibrational mode strongly coupled to excess charges is studied far from equilibrium. A Born-Oppenheimer approximation in steady state reveals voltage-dependent energy surfaces, which cause abrupt conformational changes of the molecular backbone. These are directly related to transitions between current plateaus, which are relatively robust against thermal fluctuations. In a regime accessible in experiments this allows the operation of a molecular junction as a current switch or as a molecular machine in form of a valve controlled by time-dependent bias and gate voltages.