Researchers have demonstrated a new material for single-molecule electronic switches, which can effectively vary current at the nanoscale in response to external stimuli.
This material meets almost all of the requirements needed to serve in single-molecule electronic devices: it is stable in ambient conditions, can be cycled on/off many times, is conductive (although not as conductive as metal) and has different molecular states accessible to be utilized.
I cannot help but think of Eric Drexler’s 90s classic book, The coming age of nanotechnology whenever we make another breakthrough in this area. It is astounding how far we have come.