Stable, reversible, erasable and rewritable nanorecording with Rotaxane functional materials

Rotaxane-based molecules show structural and electrical bistability in solution which is of value for molecular electronic devices and nanorecording. However, the conductance transition of Rotaxane in solid state form is still ambiguous. We have obtained nanometer scale conductance transition and stable ultrahigh-density data storage on two kinds of Rotaxane H1 and H2 thin films. Furthermore, Reversible conductance transition in Rotaxane H2 thin films has been achieved, together with erasable and rewritable nanorecording on the single molecule scale. Meanwhile, structural and conductance transitions have been directly observed in single Rotaxane H2 molecules, which confirms these Reversible transitions in solid state rotaxane thin films.