In miniaturized electronic and optoelectronic circuits, molecular tunnel junctions have attracted enormous research interest due to their small footprint, low power consumption, and rich molecular functions. However, the most popular building blocks used in contemporary molecular tunnel junctions are thiol molecules, which attach to electrode surfaces via a metal-thiolate (MS) bond, showing low stability and usually quick degradation within several days. To pave the way for more widely applicable and stable molecular tunnel junctions, there is a need to develop new molecular anchoring groups. Here, this work demonstrates robust and air-stable molecular tunnel junctions with a sub-5 nanometer bis(diarylcarbene)-based thin film as the tunneling barrier, which anchors to the electrode surface via a AuC bond. The bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular tunnel junctions exhibit high thermal stability against heating up to 200 °C and long storage lifetime over 5 months in an ambient environment. Both electrical and optical performance of these bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular junctions are characterized systematically, showing similar behaviors to thiol-based junctions as well as largely improved emission stability. This research highlights the excellent performance of bis(diarylcarbene)-based molecular tunnel junctions, which could be useful for applications in molecular electronics and plasmonics.

中文翻译：

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用于分子电子学和等离激元学的坚固的亚 5 纳米双（二芳基碳烯）薄膜

在小型化电子和光电电路中，分子隧道结由于其占地面积小、功耗低和丰富的分子功能而引起了巨大的研究兴趣。然而，当代分子隧道结中最常用的构建模块是硫醇分子，它通过金属硫醇盐（ MS ）键附着在电极表面，表现出较低的稳定性，并且通常在几天内快速降解。为了为更广泛应用和稳定的分子隧道结铺平道路，需要开发新的分子锚定基团。在这里，这项工作展示了坚固且空气稳定的分子隧道结，以亚 5 纳米双（二芳基碳烯）基薄膜作为隧道势垒，通过 Au  C 键锚定到电极表面。基于双（二芳基碳烯）的分子隧道结在加热至 200°C 时表现出高热稳定性，并且在周围环境中具有超过 5 个月的长存储寿命。这些基于双（二芳基碳烯）的分子结的电学和光学性能都得到了系统的表征，显示出与硫醇基结相似的行为以及大大提高的发射稳定性。这项研究强调了基于双（二芳基碳烯）的分子隧道结的优异性能，这可用于分子电子学和等离子体激元学中的应用。