Probing optoelectronics and energy conversion at the molecular scale

Molecules are the fundamental building blocks of materials. Creating functional optoelectronic devices at the molecular scale and understanding the underlying physics and chemistry is essential for the development of smaller, faster, and more eco-friendly nanotechnologies for applications in optoelectronics, energy conversion, and chemical / bio-sensing. In this talk, I will introduce our research in developing single-molecule experimental tools and discuss how these tools enabled us to address challenges in probing and controlling quantum transport and energy transport in molecular junction devices. First, I will begin by showing how a DNA molecular diode can be experimentally created.^[1] Second, I will introduce the direct observation of the thermoelectric cooling effect in molecular junctions.^[2] Last, I will present how single molecules can be employed as nanosensors for plasmonic hot carriers.^[3]