Chapter 8 - Molecular electronics

Abstract

Exploring the use of organic materials in electronics and optoelectronics applications has been considered an attractive approach since the 1970s. Organic light-emitting displays, liquid-crystal displays, photoreceptors in electrophotography, plastic transistors, chemical sensors, and organic photovoltaic devices are the main successes in molecular electronics. To build molecular orbitals from atomic orbitals, a variational approach is discussed in this chapter. Donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) systems are also presented, which have importance in research due to their potential application in the formation of molecular wires. The use of a rigid donor and acceptor in D-B-A systems with varying bridge lengths allows for the measurement of the distance-dependent charge transfer rate to explain the super exchange and hopping mechanism in D-B-A systems. Single molecular electronic devices are conferred as they are considered as the building blocks of molecular electronics. Assembling and exploiting biological molecules for the construction of electronic devices has been the exclusive goal of researchers and scientists. The advancement in technologies at the molecular level will eventually replace silicon devices in future. In this chapter, some important and basic concepts are illustrated to understand the multidisciplinary subject of molecular electronics.