We perform single-molecule junction experiments. Our long-term goal is to understand and control charge transport across molecules. As a first step (first two years) within the priority program we will focus on methodological improvements. In this project we want to control charge states in single-molecule junctions. We will approach this goal by two means: First, we will redesign the experimental setup such that an electrostatic gate is available. Second, we will design and synthesize molecules, which provide a well-defined charge state, accessible by finite voltages in a two terminal experiment. We expect an interplay of electrostatic effects driven by asymmetric bias voltage, and by the gate voltage. The starting parameters have to be carefully tuned by a suitable choice of the molecule. We are further interested in the question how the variation of the charge state is associated with changes in the geometry of the molecule.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes