Mechanical single-molecule potentiometers with large switching factors from ortho-pentaphenylene foldamers

Molecular potentiometers that can indicate displacement-conductance relationship, and predict and control molecular conductance are of significant importance but rarely developed. Herein, single-molecule potentiometers are designed based on ortho-pentaphenylene. The ortho-pentaphenylene derivatives with anchoring groups adopt multiple folded conformers and undergo conformational interconversion in solutions. Solvent-sensitive multiple conductance originating from different conformers is recorded by scanning tunneling microscopy break junction technique. These pseudo-elastic folded molecules can be stretched and compressed by mechanical force along with a variable conductance by up to two orders of magnitude, providing an impressively higher switching factor (114) than the reported values (ca. 1 similar to 25). The multichannel conductance governed by through-space and through-bond conducting pathways is rationalized as the charge transport mechanism for the folded ortho-pentaphenylene derivatives. These findings shed light on exploring robust single-molecule potentiometers based on helical structures, and are conducive to fundamental understanding of charge transport in higher-order helical molecules.

Automated summary

Single-molecule potentiometers based on ortho-pentaphenylene derivatives exhibit a controllable conductance modulation through multiple folded conformers, achieving a significantly higher switching factor than previously reported values. The charge transport mechanism for these folded molecules is rationalized as a multichannel conductance governed by through-space and through-bond conducting pathways, shedding light on exploring robust single-molecule potentiometers based on helical structures.