Provided are a compound for a molecular electronic device which includes a terpyridine-ruthenium organic metal compound including a thiol anchoring group of the formula below, a method of synthesizing the compound and a molecular electronic device including a molecular active layer obtained from the compound. ##STR00001## In the formula, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are each a thioacetyl group or a hydrogen atom, at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is a thioacetyl group, and m and n are each integers from 0 to 20. The molecular active layer, which is formed by self-assembling the compound on an electrode surface, composes a switching element and a memory element.