Researchers Make Breakthrough in Nanotechnology by Uncovering Conductive Property of Carbon-based Molecules

University of Pittsburgh researchers have discovered that certain organic—or carbon-based—molecules exhibit the properties of atoms under certain circumstances and, in turn, conduct electricity as well as metal. Detailed in the April 18 edition of Science, the finding is a breakthrough in developing nanotechnology that provides a new strategy for designing electronic materials, including inexpensive and multifunctional organic conductors that have long been considered the key to smaller, cheaper, and faster technologies.