Abstract
The direct generation of conducting paths within an insulating surface represents a conceptually unexplored approach to single-layer electrical conduction that opens vistas for exciting research and applications fundamentally different from those based on specific layered materials. Herein we report surface channels with single-layer -COOH functionality patterned on insulating n-octadecyltrichlorosilane monolayers on silicon that exhibit unusual ionic-electronic conduction when equipped with ion-releasing silver electrodes. The strong dependence of charge transport in such channels on their lateral dimensions (nanosize, macro-size), the type (p, n) and resistivity (doping level) of the underlying silicon substrate, the nature of the insulating spacer layer between the conducting channel and the silicon surface, and the postpatterning chemical manipulation of channel's -COOH functionality allows designing channels with variable resistivities, ranging from that of a practical insulator to some unexpectedly low values. The unusually low resistivities displayed by channels with nanometric widths and micrometer-millimeter lengths are attributed primarily to enhanced electronic transport within ultrathin nanowire-like silver metal films formed along their conductive paths. Function-structure correlations derived from a comprehensive analysis of electrical, atomic force microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectral data suggest an unconventional mode of conduction in these channels, which has yet to be elucidated, apparently involving coupled ionic-electronic transport mediated and enhanced by interfacial electrical interactions with charge carriers located outside the conducting channel and separated from those carrying the measured current. These intriguing findings hint at effects akin to Coulomb pairing in the proposed mechanisms of excitonic superconductivity in interfacial nanosystems structurally related to the present metalized surface channels.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.