Negative Differential Resistance and Hysteresis in Self‐Assembled Nanoscale Networks with Tunable Molecule‐to‐Nanoparticle Ratios

Abstract

Electronic transport is investigated through self‐assembled benzenedithiol–gold nanoparticle networks with tunable molecule‐to‐particle ratios (1:5–50:1) deposited between planar electrodes. Two‐terminal current–voltage measurements of the networks display linear behavior at low bias, which is described using a circuit model that accounts for different network morphologies, tunable via molecule‐to‐nanoparticle ratio, and defects. At larger biases, nonlinear negative differential resistance and hysteresis behavior are observed for different molecular concentrations, which can be attributed to a combination of field‐assisted tunneling and charge trapping occurring in the nanoscale networks. The directed self‐assembly of benzenedithiol–metal nanoparticle molecular electronic networks is suggested for molecular integrated circuits in applications such as memory, switching, hardware security, and computing.