Tunneling transport in polyoxometalate based composite materials

Molecular materials containing tungsten polyoxometalates as the active elements embedded into polymer matrices are investigated as candidates for electronic device applications. The transport properties of these materials are investigated varying the interelectrode spacing and the polyoxometalate concentration. The I-V characteristics of planar devices reveal a conductivity peak at room temperature conditions for intermolecular distances less than 3 nm and electrode distances less than 100 nm. The transport characteristics are discussed in terms of tunneling mechanisms. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.