Molecular logic gates: recent advances and perspectives

Abstract

The capacity and miniaturization of information storage and processing technology are rapidly approaching a limit. Alternative materials and operating principles for the elaboration and communication of data in electronic circuits and optical networks must be identified. Molecular level computing is predicted as the ultimate solution to overcome the present limitation of computing devices in terms of storage capacity and processing speed. Their attractive features are the miniaturized dimensions and the high degree of control on molecular design through chemical synthesis. In recent years a variety of molecules that respond to various chemical inputs have been synthesized and demonstrated as molecular logic gates. This review covers the recent developments and future perspectives of molecular logic gates with particular emphasis on fluorescent organic molecules.