Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Publication Title

Nano Letters

Keywords

quantum interference, quantum transport, molecular thermopower, molecular conductance, many-body theory

Abstract

Although quantum effects are thought to dominate the heat and charge transport through molecular junctions, large uncertainties in chemical structure, lead-molecule coupling strengths, and energy levels make it difficult to definitively identify these effects from the measured thermopower S and conductance G distributions alone. Here, we develop a simple statistical method to identify destructive quantum interference features (nodes) through the anticorrelation between simultaneously measured G and S values. We find these correlations can be used to unambiguously identify far-detuned nodes, even when G and S distributions alone cannot. As an example, we consider several para- and meta-configured systems, including benzenediamine and diiodo-terphenyl-based junctions, finding that nodes can be identified in ensembles with broad level-alignment and lead-molecule coupling distributions, and with significant anodal transport contributions, including from vacuum tunneling. The efficacy and limitations of this method are analyzed.

Funding Source

This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and ACS Publications

DOI

10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c04439

Comments

First published in Nano Letters: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c04439

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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