A bistable molecular switch can have a highly conjugated first state and a less conjugated second state. The bistable molecular switch can be configured such that application of an electric field reversibly switches the molecular switch from the first state to the second state. Additionally, the bistable molecular switch can include a hydrophobic moiety and a hydrophilic moiety. Such molecular switches can be incorporated into a thin film as part of a molecular switch system which can include a layer of molecular switches between a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer. The layer of molecular switches can have substantially all of the molecular switches having their hydrophilic moiety oriented in the same direction. An electric potential can then be induced between the first and second electrode layers sufficient to switch the molecular switches from the first or second state to the second or first state, respectively. The first and second states have differences in resistivity which are suitable for use in electronic applications. Thin films containing these oriented molecular switches can be used to produce a wide variety of electronic components such as ROM memory and the like.
一个双稳态分子开关可以具有高度共轭的第一状态和较少共轭的第二状态。这种双稳态分子开关可以被配置成在施加电场的情况下可逆地将分子开关从第一状态切换到第二状态。此外,这种双稳态分子开关可以包括一个疏
水基团和一个亲
水基团。这样的分子开关可以作为分子开关系统的一部分,被纳入到薄膜中,该系统可以包括一个分子开关层,该层位于第一电极层和第二电极层之间。分子开关层可以使几乎所有分子开关的亲
水基团朝向同一方向。然后可以在第一电极层和第二电极层之间产生足够的电位差,使分子开关从第一或第二状态切换到第二或第一状态,分别具有电阻率的差异,适用于电子应用。包含这些定向分子开关的薄膜可以用于生产各种电子元件,如ROM存储器等。