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A single-molecule blueprint for synthesis

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 5, pages 695–710 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Chemical reactions that occur at nanostructured electrodes have garnered widespread interest because of their potential applications in fields including nanotechnology, green chemistry and fundamental physical organic chemistry. Much of our present understanding of these reactions comes from probes that interrogate ensembles of molecules undergoing various stages of the transformation concurrently. Exquisite control over single-molecule reactivity lets us construct new molecules and further our understanding of nanoscale chemical phenomena. We can study single molecules using instruments such as the scanning tunnelling microscope, which can additionally be part of a mechanically controlled break junction. These are unique tools that can offer a high level of detail. They probe the electronic conductance of individual molecules and catalyse chemical reactions by establishing environments with reactive metal sites on nanoscale electrodes. This Review describes how chemical reactions involving bond cleavage and formation can be triggered at nanoscale electrodes and studied one molecule at a time.

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Fig. 1: A scanning tunnelling microscope can drive diverse chemical reactions.
Fig. 2: Visualizing reaction intermediates in a scanning tunnelling microscope.
Fig. 3: Triggering reactions in junctions.
Fig. 4: In situ formation of covalent Au contacts using different leaving groups.
Fig. 5: Electrochemically gated switches in a scanning tunnelling microscope break junction.
Fig. 6: Electric-field-driven reactions in a scanning tunnelling microscope.
Fig. 7: Inducing reactivity one molecule at a time.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported primarily by the NSF CHE-2023568 CCI Phase I: Center for Chemistry with Electric Fields. L.V. and X.R. acknowledge support from the NSF through the award CHE-1807654.

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Author notes

  1. Yaping Zang

    Present address: CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

  2. These authors contributed equally: Ilana Stone, Rachel L. Starr.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Ilana Stone, Rachel L. Starr, Colin Nuckolls, Michael L. Steigerwald, Xavier Roy & Latha Venkataraman

  2. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Yaping Zang & Latha Venkataraman

  3. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Tristan H. Lambert

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Contributions

I.S. and R.L.S. contributed equally to this work, proposed the conceptual framework and wrote the first draft. All authors contributed to the discussion and writing of the Review.

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Stone, I., Starr, R.L., Zang, Y. et al. A single-molecule blueprint for synthesis. Nat Rev Chem 5, 695–710 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00316-y

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