Conductance of a single molecule junction formed with Ni, Au, and Ag electrodes

Abstract

We measure the conductance of a 4,4'-diaminobiphenyl formed with Ni electrodes using a scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique. For comparison, we use Au or Ag electrodes to form a metal-molecular junction. For molecules that conduct through the highest occupied molecular orbital, junctions formed with Ni show similar conductance as Au and are more conductive than those formed with Ag, consistent with the higher work function for Ni or Au. Furthermore, we observe that the measured molecular junction length that is formed with the Ni or Au electrodes was shorter than that formed with the Ag electrodes. These observations are attributed to a larger gap distance of the Ni or Au electrodes compared to that of the Ag electrodes after the metal contact ruptures. Since our work allows us to measure the conductance of a molecule formed with various electrodes, it should be relevant to molecular electronics with versatile materials.