Physical Description of Molecular Transport Junctions

By definition, a molecular transport junction consists of a molecule extended between two macroscopic electrodes. The nature of the molecule, the environment (whether it is solvated or not), the electrode s shape and composition, the temperature, the binding of the molecule to the electrodes, and the applied field are all variables that are relevant to the measurement, which is usually one of differential conductance, defined as the derivative of the current with respect to voltage. 

Mesoscopic physics has defined many of the issues (Landauer limit transport [10, 11], Coulomb blockade regime [12], Kondo resonance regime [13-15]...) that will occur later in this chapter describing molecular transport junctions. These concepts are relevant, but must be reinterpreted to understand the molecular case. 

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