Abstract
Electric-field induced surface modification of Au is used to create stablesub-nanometre-scale gaps between Au leads. Electron tunnelling current ismeasured as a function of the molecular environment. We explore the influence ofwater molecules on tunnelling conductance. At small voltage, water molecules donot influence the conductance. At large voltage, a strong static electric fieldbetween the leads induces trapping of H2O molecules from the water vapour. Atroom temperature, trapped water molecules increase the tunnelling barrierheight, in agreement with the workfunction of water. We estimate that theresistance of a single trapped water molecule at 5 V is of order 100 GΩ.
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