Researchers of the University of Barcelona have led a project to create a diode out of a 1 nm-sized single molecule with high rectification ratios. Diodes, commonly used in everyday electronic devices, allow current to flow in one direction while blocking the current in the opposite direction. Today, researchers are approaching the physical limit in downsizing electronic components. According to Ismael Díez Pérez, who is leading the project at the University of Barcelona and is also member of the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), "In order to go to the next level of miniaturization, we have to use individual molecules as the active components of the circuits." This study, recently published in the journal Nature Communications , has used an organic molecule sandwiched between two nano-electrodes connected altogether in a circuit that is barely 1 nm long. The resulting single-molecule diode is smaller and much more efficient than any other reported. ...