Data underlying the publication: Stochastic electrical detection of single ion-gated semiconducting polymers

Semiconducting polymer chains constitute the building blocks for a wide range of electronic materials and devices. However, most of their electrical characteristics at single molecule level have received little attention. Elucidating these properties could help understanding performance limits and enabling new applications. Here we exploit coupled ionic-electronic charge transport to measure the quasi-one-dimensional electrical current through single, long conjugated polymer chains as they form transient contacts with electrodes separated by ~10 nm. Fluctuations between internal conformations of the individual polymers are resolved as abrupt, multi-level switches in the electrical current. This behavior is consistent with our theoretical simulations based on the worm-like-chain model for semi-flexible polymers. In addition to probing the intrinsic properties of single semiconducting polymer chains, our results provide an unprecedented window into the dynamics of random-coil polymers and enable the use of semiconducting polymers as electrical labels for single-molecule (bio)sensing assays.