Spin-density-functional calculations of tip-suspended gold chains, with molecular oxygen, or dissociated oxygen atoms, incorporated in them, reveal structural transitions for varying lengths. The nanowires exhibit enhanced strength for both oxygen incorporation modes, and upon stretching tip atoms join the wire. With incorporated molecular oxygen the wire conductance is about 1(2e2/h), transfor...

The influence of Coulomb interaction on the electron transport through molecular wires is studied in the regime of incoherent tunneling. In the limit of strong Coulomb repulsion, the current for spinless electrons is determined. It is shown that the voltage profile along the wire crucially influences the dependence of the current on the wire length. Upon inclusion of the spin degree of freedom ...

We derive a master equation for the electron transport through molecular wires in the limit of strong Coulomb repulsion. This approach is applied to two typical situations: First, we study transport through an open conduction channel for which we find that the current exhibits an ohmic-like behaviour. Second, we explore the transport properties of a bridged molecular wire, where the current dec...

The self-assembly process of G-wire DNA was investigated through scanning probe microscopy. Growth kinetics studies indicated the self-assembly process is diffusion limited and provides Poisson-like distribution of G-wire lengths upon reaching equilibrium. This evidence suggests that self-assembly is driven by thermodynamic processes. The average lengths of these molecules are around 100 nm lon...

Bicrystalline ZnO nanowires synthesized are composed of two crystals that form a twin structure parallel to the (0 1 1 4) plane with a growth direction closely parallel to [0 1 1 1] and the (2 1 1 0) side facet. The twin structure is suggested to be a key factor in leading the axial growth of the nanowire. The photoluminescence spectra of the nanowires show a weak UV emission at 385 nm and a st...

Donor-acceptor type light-harvesting molecular wires are covalently attached to a borondoped diamond surface via a combination of diazonium electrografting and Suzuki crosscoupling. For the Suzuki reaction, various catalytic systems are compared with respect to their imposed surface coverage. Combining 2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2’,6’-dimethoxybiphenyl (SPhos) and Pd(0), the diamond coverage impro...

We study linear electron transport through a molecular wire sandwiched between nanotube leads. We show that the presence of such electrodes strongly influences the calculated conductance. We find that depending on the quality and geometry of the contacts between the molecule and the tubular reservoirs, linear transport can be tuned between an effective Newns spectral behavior and a more structu...

Thermoelectric materials have generated interest as a means of increasing the efficiency of power generation through the scavenging of waste heat. Materials containing nanometer-sized structural and compositional features can exhibit enhanced thermoelectric performance due to the decoupling of certain electrical and thermal properties, but the extent to which these features can be controlled is...

Irena Kratochvilova,* Milan Kocirik, Adriana Zambova, Jeremiah Mbindyo, Thomas E. Mallouk and Theresa S. Mayer Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Slovance 2, 182 21 Praha 8, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected] J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejskova 3, 18223 Praha 8, Czech Republic Department of Electr...