Ruthenium(II) σ-arylacetylide complexes as redox active units for (multi-)functional molecular devices

Abstract In this account, we present our contribution towards the building of molecular devices with the use of ruthenium organometallic complexes of the type Ru(dppe) 2 ( C C-Aryl) 2 (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)ethane). In the first part, we report that these systems are appropriate for the building of switchable functional surfaces. They allow (i) fast and discrete electron transfers required for the development of redox controlled surfaces and memories, and (ii) in association with a photochromic unit, the achievement of multifunctional surfaces triggered by an electrochemical potential and/or light. In the second part, we show that those complexes also allow the building of metal-molecule-metal junctions with attractive features, including coulomb blockade or weak resistance length dependence, and the reaching of the very first multifunctional molecular junction by light/electro triggering of its electrical conductivity.