Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Designing Single Molecule Diode, Tinsae Alem

Longwood Senior Theses

The field of single molecule electronics is based on using single molecule devices to control current in electronic circuits. One area of interest is to reproduce the functionality of traditional components such as wires, switches, and diodes using single molecule junctions. We used computational chemistry to design diodes to investigate what molecular features affect their performance including using different donors, acceptors, and connectors. A comparison of the diode's performance was made by comparing the rectification ratio. About 50 diodes were designed and tested, with rectification ratios ranging from 1.0 to 5.8. The results indicate that multiple factors have a significant …