Electric-Field-Induced alignment of charged organic nanowires

Here we report appreciable alignment effect of in situ grown molecular nanowires formed by phthalocyanines under electric field. The phthalocyanine nanowires are observed to be highly selective on electrode polarity in direct current electric field, which is attributed to the charging effect of molecular wires originated from the alignment of work function of electrodes and energy levels of the molecules. The controlled connections of phthalocyanine nanowires bridging two electrodes are also demonstrated under alternating current electric field.