  The effect of anchoring group on the electrical conductance of a single
molecule bridging two Au electrodes was studied using di-substituted
(isocyanide (CN-), thiol (S-) or cyanide (NC-)) benzene. The conductance of a
single Au/1,4-diisocyanobenzene/Au junction anchored by isocyanide via a C atom
(junction with the Au-CN bond) was $3 \times 10 ^{-3} G_{0}$ ($2e^{2}/h$). The
value was comparable to $4 \times 10 ^{-3} G_{0}$ of a single
Au/1,4-benzenedithiol/Au junction with the Au-S bond. The
Au/1,4-dicyanobenzene/Au molecular junction with the Au-NC bond did not show
well-defined conductance values. The metal-molecule bond strength was estimated
by the distance over which the molecular junction was stretched before
breakdown. The stretched length of the molecular junction with the Au-CN bond
was comparable to that of the Au junction, indicating that the Au-CN bond was
stronger than the Au-Au bond.
