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Molecular motors

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Nature Nanotechnology volume 6, pages 610–611 (2011)Cite this article

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Electrons from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope can be used to drive and monitor the directional rotation of a single molecule on a metal surface.

The operation of numerous machines depends on the directed rotation of components. Windmills, for example, typically spin in one direction: the blades of the windmill deflect wind to the left or the right depending on which way they are angled, and the windmill will then rotate to the right or left, respectively. Alternatively, if the components of the machine are symmetrical, directional motion can be achieved by the operator powering it — a fact that anyone who has ridden a unicycle can confirm. Similar challenges also emerge at the molecular scale: it is not that difficult to make molecules rotate, but it is a challenge to make them rotate in a given direction. In particular, it is difficult to fuel these molecules and to be able to control them individually. Previously, various molecular motors powered by light1 and chemical reactions2 have been created, as well as molecular rotors (in which rotation is not directed) powered by electrons3. However, electrically driven molecular motors have not been reported so far. Writing in Nature Nanotechnology, Charles Sykes and colleagues4 at Tufts University now describe how butyl methyl sulphide — an asymmetric molecule that consists of a sulphur atom with a butyl group (C4H9) on one side and a methyl group (CH3) on the other — attached to a metal surface can be used as a single-molecule electric motor.

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Figure 1: A single-molecule rotor and motor.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Steven De Feyter is at the Department of Chemistry, Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (KULeuven), B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium,

    Steven De Feyter

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  1. Steven De Feyter
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Correspondence to Steven De Feyter.

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De Feyter, S. Powered by electrons. Nature Nanotech 6, 610–611 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.171

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.171

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