Single Molecular Junction Study on H2O@C60: H2O is “Electrostatically Isolated”

S Kaneko, Y Hashikawa, S Fujii, Y Murata… - …, 2017 - Wiley Online Library
ChemPhysChem, 2017Wiley Online Library
A water molecule exhibits characteristic properties on the basis of hydrogen bonding. In the
past decade, single water molecules placed in non‐hydrogen‐bonding environments have
attracted growing attention. To reveal the fundamental properties of a single water molecule,
endohedral fullerene H2O@ C60 is an ideal and suitable model. We examined the
electronic properties of H2O@ C60 by performing single‐molecule measurements. The
conductance of a single molecular junction based on H2O@ C60 was found to be …
Abstract
A water molecule exhibits characteristic properties on the basis of hydrogen bonding. In the past decade, single water molecules placed in non‐hydrogen‐bonding environments have attracted growing attention. To reveal the fundamental properties of a single water molecule, endohedral fullerene H2O@C60 is an ideal and suitable model. We examined the electronic properties of H2O@C60 by performing single‐molecule measurements. The conductance of a single molecular junction based on H2O@C60 was found to be comparable to that of empty C60. The observed values were remarkably higher than those obtained for conventional molecular junctions due to the effective hybridization of the π‐conjugated system to the metal electrode. Additionally, the results undoubtedly exclude the possibility of electrostatic contact of entrapped H2O with the carbon wall of C60. We finally concluded that H2O entrapped inside a C60 cage can be regarded as an electrostatically isolated molecule.
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