Molecule of the Month
March 2017
Heteroatom Effect on Quantum Interference in Molecular Junctions

A significant effect of heteroatom substitution on destructive quantum interference (QI) in meta-coupled molecules was observed for the first time.
It is demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically that destructive QI can be alleviated by the heteroatom effect, whereas constructive QI remains almost unaffected.

This work was carried out in the group of Dr. Shi-Xia Liu.

References:

  • X. Liu, S. Sangtarash, D. Reber, D. Zhang, H. Sadeghi, J. Shi, Z-Y. Xiao, W. Hong, C. J. Lambert, S.-X. Liu;
    "Gating of Quantum Interference in Molecular Junctions by Heteroatom Substitution"
    Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2017, 56(1), 173-176; doi:10.1002/anie.201609051.