Direct Observation of Energy Transport Dynamics and High Thermal Conductance across Single Solid-Molecule Junctions
Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 038001 – Published 13 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rj4r-2vrf
Abstract
We report dynamic energy transport across multicomponent molecular junctions observed at the atomic level. A clear temporal sequence of energy transfer is revealed at early times following photoexcitation of Au(111) bonded with self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols: from the gold surface layer to the head groups and then to the methylene lattice. Remarkably, the structural dynamics of the gold surface layer differ significantly from those of clean gold. The methylene lattice dynamics exhibit chain-length insensitivity but with a length-dependent retention time to reach full thermalization. Our results show high interfacial thermal conductance and high thermal conductivity for the methylene lattice.
