SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins react with Au and Si, are electrically conductive and denature at 3 × 10 V m: a surface bonding and a single-protein circuit study.

Developing means to characterise SARS-CoV-2 and its new variants is critical for future outbreaks. SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins have peripheral disulfide bonds (S-S), which are common in all spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants, in other types of coronaviruses (, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV) and are likely to be present in future coronaviruses. Here, we demonstrate that S-S bonds in the spike S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 react with gold (Au) and silicon (Si) electrodes.

Silicon - single molecule - silicon circuits.

In 2020, silicon - molecule - silicon junctions were fabricated and shown to be on average one third as conductive as traditional junctions made using gold electrodes, but in some instances to be even more conductive, and significantly 3 times more extendable and 5 times more mechanically stable. Herein, calculations are performed of single-molecule junction structure and conductivity pertaining to blinking and scanning-tunnelling-microscopy (STM) break junction (STMBJ) experiments performed using chemisorbed 1,6-hexanedithiol linkers. Some strikingly different characteristics are found compared to analogous junctions formed using the metals which, to date, have dominated the field of molecular electronics.

Spontaneous S-Si bonding of alkanethiols to Si(111)-H: towards Si-molecule-Si circuits.

We report the synthesis of covalently linked self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon surfaces, using mild conditions, in a way that is compatible with silicon-electronics fabrication technologies. In molecular electronics, SAMs of functional molecules tethered to gold sulfur linkages dominate, but these devices are not robust in design and not amenable to scalable manufacture. Whereas covalent bonding to silicon has long been recognized as an attractive alternative, only formation processes involving high temperature and/or pressure, strong chemicals, or irradiation are known.

Vortex fluidic mediated transformation of graphite into highly conducting graphene scrolls.

Two-dimensional graphene has remarkable properties that are revolutionary in many applications. Scrolling monolayer graphene with precise tunability would create further potential for niche applications but this has proved challenging. We have now established the ability to fabricate monolayer graphene scrolls in high yield directly from graphite flakes under non-equilibrium conditions at room temperature in dynamic thin films of liquid.