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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Light can switch electrical conduction through a molecular junction by changing the molecule’s structure or electronic state. In this laboratory result, “on” and “off” describe how readily charge travels through a molecule between electrodes—not a finished consumer switch.
What “on” and “off” mean at the molecular scale
A molecular switch is a molecule that can be driven between states with different properties. For an electrical switch, researchers place a molecule in a junction between electrodes and measure charge transport. If a light-triggered change makes conduction easier, the junction moves toward its conducting, or “on,” state; if it impedes transport, it moves toward “off.”
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The light does not act like a tiny mechanical button. Instead, illumination changes the molecule’s shape or electronic arrangement. That change affects how its energy levels interact with the electrodes and, in turn, how readily electrons pass through the junction.
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1. A molecule bridges two electrodes
In a molecular junction, a molecule is contacted by nanoscale electrodes. The device is small enough that the molecule’s own structure and electronic properties matter to current flow.
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2. Light changes the molecule’s state
Some photosensitive molecules can adopt distinct forms when illuminated. In a diarylethene junction study, researchers irradiated molecules contacting gold nanoelectrodes and controlled switching between nonconductive and conductive states. Their measurements characterized conductance in both states and examined the molecular energy level and its broadening in the junction. Read the PubMed-indexed study, “Light-Induced Switching of Tunable Single-Molecule Junctions.”
3. Researchers measure the electrical response
The evidence is an electrical measurement of the junction’s conductance, not merely a visible color change. The 2016 Chemistry World report used the phrase “single-molecule switch flipped on and off by light.” Its proposed uses included solar-energy harvesting, light sensing, biomedical electronics and optical logic; these were future possibilities, not demonstrated consumer products. Chemistry World’s report was published on 17 June 2016.
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Different switch chemistries can behave differently
Diarylethene is one example, not a universal recipe. In a separate single-molecule transistor study, azobenzene side groups were reversibly controlled by light and an electric field. The molecule’s trans and cis forms had different resistance, while the electric field affected their relative stability and the barrier to isomerization. This shows that a molecular switch may have more than one control input; it does not establish that the diarylethene junction uses the same mechanism. See the 2019 Nature Communications study, “Side-group chemical gating via reversible optical and electric control in a single molecule transistor.”
Electrical switching is not the same as fluorescence switching
“Photoswitching” also describes experiments in which light changes how brightly a molecule emits light. Those results demonstrate a related idea—illumination can change a molecule’s state—but their output is fluorescence, not current through a junction.
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- Dronpa: In a 2005 study, 488 nm illumination drove individual Dronpa fluorescent-protein molecules toward a dim, protonated form, and 405 nm light could restore the bright form. The researchers reported more than 100 switching cycles and response times on the order of milliseconds under their experimental conditions. Those figures belong to Dronpa, not the conductive molecular junction. Read the Dronpa study, “Reversible single-molecule photoswitching in the GFP-like fluorescent protein Dronpa.”
- GFP: A 1997 Nature paper reported blinking and a long-lasting dark state in individual green fluorescent protein molecules; 405 nm irradiation could restore emission. The authors suggested possible uses such as fluorescent markers, molecular photonic switches or optical storage elements. These were proposed applications in that paper, not claims of current products. Read “On/off blinking and switching behaviour of single molecules of green fluorescent protein.”
These examples should not be ranked against the electrical junction by a single performance number: they use different molecules, environments, outputs and device arrangements. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s review “Molecular switches controlled by light” discusses the broader field.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the experiments do—and do not—establish
Laboratory studies establish that light can control measurable molecular properties, including electrical conductance in a molecular junction. They do not by themselves establish a reliable, practical device that can be manufactured and used by consumers. The Chemistry World item is secondary coverage, and its exact report could not be independently matched to the distinct diarylethene junction experiment; the latter supports the broader mechanism, not the claim that both accounts describe the same experiment.
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Other chemistries broaden the research field rather than supply missing specifications for this switch. A 2019 study of cyclic group-15 biradicals reported a photoisomerization quantum yield of up to 24.6%, but that figure is specific to that separate system. It cannot be assigned to the title’s conductive switch. See “A chemical reaction controlled by light-activated molecular switches based on hetero-cyclopentanediyls.” Spiropyrans are another class of molecular optical switches; their literature discusses immobilization and concerns such as UV-related photobleaching in imaging contexts. See the review “Spiropyrans as molecular optical switches.”
No on/off ratio, speed, lifetime or efficiency is established here for the exact conductive switch described in the 2016 report. Those numbers depend on the particular molecule and junction conditions, so values from another chemistry would be misleading.
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