Thermoelectric Driven Ring Currents in Single Molecules and Graphene Nanoribbons

Jens Broe Rix; Per Hedegard

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b09626

Thermoelectric Driven Ring Currents in Single Molecules and Graphene Nanoribbons

Jens Broe Rix, Per Hedegard

Condensed Matter Physics

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In a Seebeck coefficient measurement with vanishing transport current, it is usually assumed that local currents cancel as well. Here we present the existence of local electric currents in single molecule junctions under such experimental conditions. In contrast to ring currents induced by a magnetic field, the thermoelectric driven ring currents can show up in a variety of different patterns depending on how the molecule is connected to the leads. We derive an analytic expression to calculate local currents in tight binding models and use it to qualitatively predict the current patterns and to show that, in alternant molecules, thermoelectric driven ring currents are odd as a function of a gate voltage. Finally, we show that local currents exist in gated graphene nanoribbons as well.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume	123
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	3817-3822
ISSN	1932-7447
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b09626
Publication status	Published - 14 Feb 2019

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title = "Thermoelectric Driven Ring Currents in Single Molecules and Graphene Nanoribbons",

abstract = "In a Seebeck coefficient measurement with vanishing transport current, it is usually assumed that local currents cancel as well. Here we present the existence of local electric currents in single molecule junctions under such experimental conditions. In contrast to ring currents induced by a magnetic field, the thermoelectric driven ring currents can show up in a variety of different patterns depending on how the molecule is connected to the leads. We derive an analytic expression to calculate local currents in tight binding models and use it to qualitatively predict the current patterns and to show that, in alternant molecules, thermoelectric driven ring currents are odd as a function of a gate voltage. Finally, we show that local currents exist in gated graphene nanoribbons as well.",

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T1 - Thermoelectric Driven Ring Currents in Single Molecules and Graphene Nanoribbons

AU - Rix, Jens Broe

AU - Hedegard, Per

PY - 2019/2/14

Y1 - 2019/2/14

N2 - In a Seebeck coefficient measurement with vanishing transport current, it is usually assumed that local currents cancel as well. Here we present the existence of local electric currents in single molecule junctions under such experimental conditions. In contrast to ring currents induced by a magnetic field, the thermoelectric driven ring currents can show up in a variety of different patterns depending on how the molecule is connected to the leads. We derive an analytic expression to calculate local currents in tight binding models and use it to qualitatively predict the current patterns and to show that, in alternant molecules, thermoelectric driven ring currents are odd as a function of a gate voltage. Finally, we show that local currents exist in gated graphene nanoribbons as well.

AB - In a Seebeck coefficient measurement with vanishing transport current, it is usually assumed that local currents cancel as well. Here we present the existence of local electric currents in single molecule junctions under such experimental conditions. In contrast to ring currents induced by a magnetic field, the thermoelectric driven ring currents can show up in a variety of different patterns depending on how the molecule is connected to the leads. We derive an analytic expression to calculate local currents in tight binding models and use it to qualitatively predict the current patterns and to show that, in alternant molecules, thermoelectric driven ring currents are odd as a function of a gate voltage. Finally, we show that local currents exist in gated graphene nanoribbons as well.

U2 - 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b09626

DO - 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b09626

M3 - Journal article

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VL - 123

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EP - 3822

JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry C

JF - Journal of Physical Chemistry C

IS - 6

ER -

Thermoelectric Driven Ring Currents in Single Molecules and Graphene Nanoribbons

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