Abstract
We demonstrate rectification ratios (RR) of ≳1000 at biases of 1.3 V in bilayers of C60 deposited on copper. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that the strong coupling between C60 and the Cu(111) surface leads to the metallization of the bottom C60 layer, while the molecular orbitals of the top C60 are essentially unaffected. Due to this substrate-induced symmetry breaking and to a tunneling transport mechanism, the system behaves as a hole-blocking layer, with a spatial dependence of the onset voltage on intra-layer coordination. Together with previous observations of strong electron-blocking character of pentacene/C60 bilayers on Cu(111), this work further demonstrates the potential of strongly hybridized, C60-coated electrodes to harness the electrical functionality of molecular components.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 092328 |
Journal | Journal of Chemical Physics |
Volume | 146 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 7 2017 |
Funding
Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, an Office of Science user facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Primary support for this work was provided by the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences (SISGR Grant No. DE-FG02-09ER16109). We thank our anonymous referees for bringing some references to our attention, and for suggesting that static non-local correlations may explain the coordination-dependent turn-on voltage.26
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry