Length-Independent Charge Transport in Chimeric Molecular Wires

Advanced molecular electronic components remain vital for the next generation of miniaturized integrated circuits. Thus, much research effort has been devoted to the discovery of lossless molecular wires, for which the charge transport rate or conductivity is not attenuated with length in the tunneling regime. Herein, we report the synthesis and electrochemical interrogation of DNA‐like molecular wires. We determine that the rate of electron transfer through these constructs is independent of their length and propose a plausible mechanism to explain our findings. The reported approach holds relevance for the development of high‐performance molecular electronic components and the fundamental study of charge transport phenomena in organic semiconductors. It's down to the wire: Charge transport in self‐assembled monolayers from DNA‐inspired, perylenediimide‐based molecular wires was investigated electrochemically. The electron transfer rate for the chimeric wires was determined to be essentially independent of their length. These findings may afford new opportunities for the development of advanced molecular electronic components.