Ambipolar transport in an electrochemically gated single-molecule field-effect transistor

Charge transport is studied in single-molecule junctions formed with a 1,7-pyrrolidine-substituted 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) molecular block using an electrochemical gate. Compared to an unsubstituted-PTCDI block, spectroscopic and electrochemical measurements indicate a reduction in the highest occupied (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied (LUMO) molecular orbital energy gap associated with the electron donor character of the substituents. The small HOMO-LUMO energy gap allows for switching between electron- and hole-dominated charge transports as a function of gate voltage, thus demonstrating a single-molecule ambipolar field-effect transistor. Both the unsubstituted and substituted molecules display similar n-type behaviors, indicating that they share the same n-type conduction mechanism. However, the substituted-PTCDI block shows a peak in the source-drain current vs gate voltage characteristics for the p-type transport, which is attributed to a two-step incoherent transport via the HOMO of the molecule.