Cover Picture: Ultrathin π-Conjugated Polymer Films for Simple Fabrication of Large-Area Molecular Junctions (ChemPhysChem 4/2007)

The cover picture shows the interface of a junction that incorporates between Au and Hg electrodes self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed by molecules of different electronic structure (shown in blue and red) and a layer of ultrathin polymer film based on polyphenylenevinylene‐type chains. The electrons inside the polymer (illustrated by the yellow balls with curved tails) are hopping, both along and across the chains and then they tunnel across the SAMs with a rate that depends on the molecular structure. The polymer film protecting the SAMs allows to fabricate metal–molecule–metal junctions which are mechanically and electrically stable. Find out more in the Communication article by Milani et al. on page 515. George Kaufmann is acknowledged for the cover picture.