Scientists Shatter 'Impossible' Record, Create Molecular Diode
Electrical circuits are the basic building blocks of modern electronics, with components that control the flow of current. One of those components is the diode, which allows the flow of current in a one direction while blocking the opposite flow.
Invented in 1904 by John Ambrose Fleming., the first diode was constructed with 2 electrodes in the form of a vacuum tube. In 1906, Lee Dee Forest added a 3rd electrode called a control grid and the triode, which is used as amplifier, switch.. The application of triode created a new era in broadcasting with the invention of the crystal radio sensor by Pickard in 1912. Commonly used in DC power supply units as a rectifiers and voltage regulators, as well as clipper and clamper circuits. Diodes come in different shape and sizes
Credit: Slideshare/Seti Saiman
Diodes are characterized by their rectification ratio, which is the rate between current for positive and negative electrical bias. The rectification ratios of commercial silicon-based diodes have rectification ratios between 10^5 and 10^8.
The higher the rectification rate, the more precise the control of current. So, for nearly 20 years without success, researchers have been trying to design molecular diodes that match or exceed that rectification ratio. A fundamental theoretical limitation of a single molecule had limited molecular diodes to rectification ratios no higher than 10^3 — far from the commercial values of silicon-based diodes.
Now, as reported Monday in the scholarly journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team of scientists led by Nijhuis has demonstrated a way to reach a rectification ratio that had been thought a theoretical impossibility.
The researchers were able to form macroscale tunnel junctions based on a single layer of molecular diodes. The number of molecules conducting current in those junctions changes with the bias polarity, thus multiplying the intrinsic rectification ratio of an individual molecule for forward bias by three orders of magnitude. Their method overcame the 10^3 limitation, resulting in a record-high rectification ratio of 6.3 x 10^5.
“It surpassed that limit imposed by theory. Definitively, you now have a molecular diode that responds comparably to silicon-based diodes,” said del Barco, a physicist who interpreted the data and performed the theoretical modeling that explained how it works. “It moves something that was only science into a commercial possibility.”
The breakthrough isn’t likely to replace silicon diodes, but could eventually bring about the use of molecular diodes for applications that silicon diodes can’t handle. And molecular diodes, which can be produced in a chemistry lab, would be cheaper and easier to fabricate than standard diodes.
Mark Schlueb
Citation: Molecular diodes with rectification ratios exceeding 105 driven by electrostatic interactions Xiaoping Chen, Max Roemer, Li Yuan, Wei Du, Damien Thompson, Enrique del Barco & Christian A. Nijhuis http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.110
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/07/scientists-shatter-impossible-record.html
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).