MOLECULAR RECTIFICATION, PHOTODIODES AND SYMMETRY

We present a review of recent advances in the molecular rectifier proj ect, Using a donor-sigma-bridge-acceptor compound, specifically design ed to be a molecular rectifier, drastically improved rectifier charact eristics were observed compared with a previously published pi-bridged compound, In particular the increased 'rectification ratio' of the si gma-bridged compound was attributed to more effective current blocking under reverse bias. Furthermore, we demonstrate that photodiode-like properties are possessed by films of the zwitterionic, pi-bridged comp ound, C16H33-gamma Q3CNQ, using a transparent electrode construction. Finally, we provide an explanation for the observation that all non-ce ntrosymmetric Langmuir-Blodgett film samples exhibit an exponential cu rrent-density/voltage dependence.