Mechanism for Si-Si Bond Rupture in Single Molecule Junctions

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 Dec 14;138(49):16159-16164. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b10700. Epub 2016 Nov 30.

Abstract

The stability of chemical bonds can be studied experimentally by rupturing single molecule junctions under applied voltage. Here, we compare voltage-induced bond rupture in two Si-Si backbones: one has no alternate conductive pathway whereas the other contains an additional naphthyl pathway in parallel to the Si-Si bond. We show that in contrast to the first system, the second can conduct through the naphthyl group when the Si-Si bond is ruptured using an applied voltage. We investigate this voltage induced Si-Si bond rupture by ab initio density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations that ultimately demonstrate that the excitation of molecular vibrational modes by tunneling electrons leads to homolytic Si-Si bond rupture.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't