Conductance Measurements of Polar Molecules in a Nonconducting Solvent

Solution-based single-molecule conductance measurements of α,ω-bis(carboxylic acids) are conveniently performed using a high-boiling-point nonconducting ethereal solvent. First-principles calculations support experimental observations that linear oligoalkanes exhibit the expected exponential decay of conductance with length, whereas junctions comprising cyclic bridge hydrocarbons of different lengths and/or structures exhibit a similar conductance.