Single molecules may someday replace the transistors and other already tiny components in today’s microchips. Yet many of the molecules that chemists have found to have promising electronic traits don’t behave as expected in circuits.
GOLDEN HANDCUFFS. Suspended in a sulfuric acid solution between an ultrasharp gold probe (top cylinder) and a gold electrode (bottom spike), a single molecular strand (chain of rings) transforms into a precisely adjusted electronic amplifier.
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