Multichannel Conductance of Folded Single-Molecule Wires Aided by Through-Space Conjugation

Deciphering charge transport through multichannel pathways in single-molecule junctions is of high importance to construct nanoscale electronic devices and deepen insight into biological redox processes. Herein, we report two tailor-made folded single-molecule wires featuring intramolecular pi-pi stacking interactions. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) based break-junction technique and theoretical calculations show that through-bond and through-space conjugations are integrated into one single-molecule wire, allowing for two simultaneous conducting channels in a single-molecule junction. These folded molecules with stable pi-pi stacking interaction offer conceptual advances in single-molecule multichannel conductance, and are perfect models for conductance studies in biological systems, organic thin films, and pi-stacked columnar aggregates.