Related papers: Modeling contact formation between atomic-sized go…
We apply the mechanically controllable break junctions technique to investigate the transition from tunneling to direct contact in tungsten. This transition is quite different from that of other metals and is determined by the local…
We present ab initio calculations of transport properties of atomic-sized aluminum contacts in the presence of oxygen. The experimental situation is modeled by considering a single oxygen atom (O) or one of the molecules O2 and O3 bridging…
We have developed a technology to reproducibly make gaps with distance control on the single atom scale. The gold contacts are flat on the nanometre scale and are fabricated on an oxidized aluminium film that serves as a gate. We show that…
Inspired by recent measurements of forces and conductances of bipyridine nano-junctions, we have performed density functional theory calculations of structure and electron transport in a bipyridine molecule attached between gold electrodes…
This paper reports the experimental, analytical, and numerical study of resistive-nanoindentation tests performed on gold samples (bulk and thin film). First, the relevant contributions to electrical contact resistance are discussed and…
In addition to the self-governing properties, tiny metallic colloids are the building blocks of larger particles. This topic has been the subject of many studies. This work discusses the results of three different experiments. Attained…
The conductance of breaking metallic nanojunctions shows plateaus alternated with sudden jumps, corresponding to the stretching of stable atomic configurations and atomic rearrangements, respectively. We investigate the structure of the…
Using remarkably simple experimental techniques it is possible to gently break a metallic contact and thus form conducting nanowires. During the last stages of the pulling a neck-shaped wire connects the two electrodes, the diameter of…
Structural transformations, electronic spectra and ballistic transport in pulled gold nanowires are investigated with ab initio simulations, and correlated with recent measurements. Strain-induced yield of an initial double-strand wire…
Devices made of few molecules constitute the miniaturization limit that both inorganic and organic-based electronics aspire to reach. However, integration of millions of molecular junctions with less than 100 molecules each has been a long…
Surface structure affects the growth, shape and properties of nanoparticles. In wet chemical syntheses, metal additives and surfactants are used to modify surfaces and guide nanocrystal growth. To understand this process, it is critical to…
Functionalization of nanoporous metallic materials enables the tailoring of surface chemistry and morphology in nanostructured materials, optimising their performance for electrocatalytic and sensor applications. Liquid phase chemical…
This mini review focuses on conductance measurements through molecular junctions containing few tens of molecules, which are fabricated along two approaches: (i) conducting atomic force microscope contacting a self-assembled monolayers on…
One of the major industrial challenges is to profit from some fascinating physical features present at the nanoscale. The production of dissipationless nanoswitches (or nanocontacts) is one of such attractive applications. Nevertheless, the…
A new form of gold nanobridges has been recently observed in ultrahigh-vacuum experiments, where the gold atoms rearrange to build helical nanotubes, akin in some respects to carbon nanotubes. The good reproducibility of these wires and…
The electrical transport properties of atomic-scale conductors are reviewed, with an emphasis on the relations of this problem with studies on quantum size effects in metallic clusters. A brief introduction is given of the natural formalism…
The motion of the three-phase contact line between two immiscible fluids and a solid surface arises in a variety of wetting phenomena and technological applications. One challenge in continuum theory is the effective representation of…
We describe a technique for connecting a nanometer-scale gold grain to leads by atomic-scale gold point contacts. These devices differ from previous metallic quantum dots in that the conducting channels are relatively well-transmitting. We…
In a recent paper Liang {\it et al.} [Nature {\bf 411}, 665 (2001)] showed experimentally, that metallic nanotubes, strongly coupled to external electrodes, may act as coherent molecular waveguides for electronic transport. The experimental…
While nanoalloys are of paramount scientific and practical interests, the main processes leading to their formation are still poorly understood. Key structural features in the alloy systems, including crystal phase, chemical ordering, and…