Identification of switching mechanism in molecular junctions by inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy

We present first-principles studies on electron transport properties of Pd-dithiolated oligoaniline-Pd molecular junctions. It is to demonstrate the possibility of using inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) to identify the switching mechanism in the molecular junction. Calculations have successfully reproduced the experimentally observed conductance switching behavior and the corresponding inelastic electron tunneling spectra. It is shown that the conductance switching is induced by conformation changes of the intercalated dithiolated oligoaniline in the junctions rather than oxidation/reduction as proposed earlier. Among three possible isomers, the low and high conductance states are related to two symmetrical structures. The possible involvement of asymmetric structure is discussed. It is revealed that chemical bonds between the terminal S atom and Pd electrodes are quite weak with relatively long bond distances.