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Nanomachines

A light-driven molecular pump

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 18–19 (2015)Cite this article

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A macrocycle can transit unidirectionally along a molecular axle under light irradiation dissipating a constant amount of energy per cycle.

Machines are defined as devices that transform energy into heat and work, a conceptualization born out of the industrial revolution and embodied in classical equilibrium thermodynamics. The classical description, however, applies to systems that are so large and operate over such long timescales that thermal fluctuations are negligible. At molecular length and time scales, achieving relative motion between molecular components to produce work needs to account for the inescapable presence of thermal energy. Although thermal fluctuations are directionally random, chemical interactions between various molecular components can direct the formation of a specific structure through self-assembly. The problem is that thermal fluctuations that lead to self-assembly cannot also equally lead to spontaneous disassembly: that is, thermal energy alone cannot be used to cause cycles of molecular assembly and disassembly.

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Figure 1: Working principle of assembly/disassembly of a pseudo-rotaxane under thermal equilibrium and in a photostationary state.

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  1. Edie Sevick is at the Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia,

    Edie Sevick

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  1. Edie Sevick
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Correspondence to Edie Sevick.

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Sevick, E. A light-driven molecular pump. Nature Nanotech 10, 18–19 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.291

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.291

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