Carbon-based nanostructures for single-molecule investigations

9^th World Congress on Materials Science and Engineering

June 12-14, 2017 Rome, Italy

Matteo Palma

Queen Mary University of London, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

We present a universal approach for the generation of multifunctional nanomaterials that employ molecular building blocks assembled on carbon nanotube (CNTs) electrodes. We will demonstrate single-molecule control in the formation of nanohybrids via the in-solution assembly of classes of molecular materials (organic, inorganic, and biological with promising attributes) to DNA wrapped CNTs. We have linked in solution metallic single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) with different conjugated molecular wires, and measured the molecular conductance in these molecular transport junctions, highlighting the potential of an all-carbon based approach for solution-processable molecular electronics (see image). Additionally, we produced organic-inorganic heterostructures consisting of single quantum dots (QDs) univocally linked at the terminal ends of individual SWCNTs. Monofunctionalized SWCNTQD heterostructures were obtained and photo physical investigations at the single nanohybrid level showed evidence of electronic coupling. Studies in this context are critical in the design of novel QD-based optoelectronic and light-energy conversion devices. Finally, we will demonstrate site-specific assembly of single proteins on individual SWCNTs. As a proof of concept, we investigated different CNT-protein configurations and obtained evidence of site-specific coupling between SWCNTs and specific proteins of interest. Notably, only the right bioengineered system exhibited the expected direct protein-nanotube communication, paving the way to selective electrical addressability of proteins via the use of carbon nano electrodes.

Biography :

Email: m.palma@qmul.ac.uk