Electrochemical Shot-Noise of a Redox Monolayer

Abstract

Redox monolayers are the base for a wide variety of devices including high-frequency molecular diodes or biomolecular sensors. We introduce a formalism to describe the electrochemical shot-noise of such monolayer, confirmed experimentally at room temperature in liquid. The proposed method, carried out at equilibrium, avoids parasitic capacitance, increases the sensitivity and allows to obtain quantitative information such as the electronic coupling (or standard electron transfer rates), its dispersion and the number of molecules. Unlike in solid-state physics, the homogeneity in energy levels and transfer rates in the monolayer yields a Lorentzian spectrum. This first step for shot-noise studies in molecular electrochemical systems opens perspectives for quantum transport studies in liquid environment at room temperature as well as highly sensitive measurements for bioelectrochemical sensors.