Here we study the stability and
rupture of molecular junctions under high voltage bias at the single molecule/
single bond level using the scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique. We synthesize
carbon-,
silicon-, and
germanium-based molecular wires terminated by aurophilic linker groups and study how the molecular backbone and linker group affect the probability of voltage-induced junction
rupture. First, we find that junctions formed with covalent S-Au bonds are robust under high voltage and their
rupture does not demonstrate bias dependence within our bias range. In contrast, junctions formed through donor-acceptor bonds
rupture more frequently, and their
rupture probability demonstrates a strong bias dependence. Moreover, we find that the junction
rupture probability increases significantly above ∼1 V in junctions formed from methylthiol-terminated disilanes and digermanes, indicating a voltage-induced
rupture of individual Si-Si and Ge-Ge bonds. Finally, we compare the
rupture probabilities of the
thiol-terminated
silane derivatives containing Si-Si, Si-C, and Si-O bonds and find that Si-C backbones have higher probabilities of sustaining the highest voltage. These results establish a new method for studying electric field breakdown phenomena at the single molecule level.