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Rerouting Electron Transfer in Molecular Assemblies by Redox‐Pair Matching
Author(s) -
Balgley Renata,
Shankar Sreejith,
Lahav Michal,
van der Boom Milko E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201505290
Subject(s) - isostructural , electron transfer , redox , electrochemistry , electron , materials science , metal , nanotechnology , chemical physics , chemistry , electrode , crystallography , inorganic chemistry , photochemistry , crystal structure , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
We demonstrate how the distance over which electron transfer occurs through organic materials can be controlled and extended. Coating of conductive surfaces with nanoscale layers of redox‐active metal complexes allows the electrochemical addressing of distant layers that are otherwise electrochemically silent. Our materials can pass electrons selectively in directions that are determined by positioning of layers of metal complexes and the distances between them. These electron‐transfer processes can be made dominantly uni‐ or bidirectional. The design involves 1) a set of isostructural metal complexes with different electron affinities, 2) a scalable metal–organic spacer, and 3) a versatile assembly approach that allows systematic variation of composition, structure, and electron‐transfer properties. We control the electrochemical communication between interfaces by the deposition sequence and the spacer length, therefore we are able to program the bulk properties of the assemblies.