In the new study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Hla's
team examined synthesized molecules of a type of organic salt, (BETS)2-GaCl4,
placed on a surface of silver. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the scientists
observed superconductivity in molecular chains of various lengths. For chains
below 50 nanometers in length, superconductivity decreased as the chains became
shorter. However, the researchers were still able to observe the phenomenon
in chains as small as four pairs of molecules, or 3.5 nanometers in length.