Molecular Design towards Controlling Charge Transport

Organic electronics generally deals with bulk, statistically averaged electrical properties of organic materials. Single-molecule electronic devices can then be viewed as linkers to these bulk properties. However, controlling charge transport in single-molecule systems still remains a formidable task and has prevented proliferation of these systems from research laboratories to household electronics. This Concept article provides a general overview of the recent advances made by our group in the field. We will describe several concepts in designing molecular functions towards controlling charge transport through molecular systems. It should be noted, however, that this Concept article is by no means comprehensive and readers should look elsewhere for a more comprehensive picture of molecular electronics.