Modulating the Conductance of a Au–octanedithiol–Au Molecular Junction

Stretching the point: Single molecules of 1,8-octanedithiol are covalently connected between two gold electrodes to form a molecular junction (see figure). The junction can be broken and reformed by stretching the molecule, and the conductance of the junction is measured while applying a modulation with an STM piezoelectric transducer. Such a process allows greater understanding of such junctions and of processes at the single-molecule level.