Turning charge transfer on and off in a molecular interferometer with vibronic pathways.

Inelastic electron-transfer kinetics in molecules with electron donor and acceptor units connected by a bridge is expected to be sensitive to bridge-localized vibronic interactions. Here, we show how inelastic electron transfer may be turned on and off in a double-slit style experiment that uses the molecule as an interferometer. We describe donor-acceptor interactions in terms of interfering vibronic coupling pathways that can be actively selected ("labeled") when pathway-specific vibrations are excited by infrared radiation. Thus, inelastic tunneling may be actively controlled, and we suggest strategies for building molecular scale quantum interferometers and switches based on this phenomenon.

Duke Scholars

Author David N. Beratan Chemistry