Self-assembled conducting polymer nanometer scale devices

The possibility of combining conjugated polymers with nanometer scale devices (nanodevices) to incorporate their propertiesis discussed. This approach combines the highly topical disciplines of polymer electronics and nanoelectronics to create a new sub-direction of polymer nanoelectronics, which can serve as a tool to probe the behavior of polymer molecules at the nanometer/molecular level, and contribute to the clarification of the transport mechanisms in conjugated polymers. We investigate this combination using a family of linear and conjugated polymers, poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)s with thiolacetate functionalized end groups as an example.