Transport properties of polyoxometalate containing polymeric materials

In this paper. molecular compounds that come from the class of tungsten or molybdenum polyoxometalates (POM) are examined as components of polymeric materials with potential use in nanolithography and molecular devices. The main reason for selecting molecules of this class is their well defined and stable structure as well as their thermal or photochemical reduction-oxidation and catalytic properties. The material used is in the form of POM molecules embedded into a polymeric lithographic resist matrix. This process enables nanopatterning of the conductive channel thus bypassing manufacturing steps. By diminishing electrode dimensions and molecular distance, transport is dominated by tunneling effects. In a specific case negative resistance is observed. A possible explanation is a multiple tunneling mechanism due to the presence of POM molecules. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.