Single Molecule Electrochemistry and Spectroscopy

We can capture single molecules, ranging from redox active organic molecular wires to organometallic complexes in nano-gap junctions and study their electrochemical and electrical properties down to the single molecule level. This is achieved by using a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) which provides the ability to form single molecule junctions and to measure the current flow through the molecular bridge. In this project we will be capturing redox active molecules within molecular junctions and tuning their redox potential to achieve different redox states and studying any changes in conductance. As well as this, we will be looking at fast time-resolved electrical measurements of the dynamics in single-molecule junctions and spectroscopy. Using these methods, we can detect, and study transiently charged molecular states at the singular molecule level and configurational transitions of molecular bridges.