01/05/2012
Experimental
demonstration of a single-molecule electric motor
By: Omar Gómez Rojas ID:139236
For molecules to be used as components in molecular
machines, methods that couple individual molecules to external energy sources
and that selectively excite motion in a given direction are required.
Significant progress has been made in the construction of molecular motors
powered by light and by chemical reactions but electrically driven motors have
not yet been built, despite several theoretical proposals for such motors. Here
we report that a butyl methyl sulphide molecule adsorbed on a copper surface
can be operated as a single-molecule electric motor. Electrons from a scanning
tunnelling microscope are used to drive the directional motion of the molecule
in a two-terminal setup. Moreover, the temperature and electron flux can be
adjusted to allow each rotational event to be monitored at the molecular scale
in real time. The direction and rate of the rotation are related to the chiralities
of both the molecule and the tip of the microscope (which serves as the
electrode), illustrating the importance of the symmetry of the metal contacts
in atomic-scale electrical devices.
Find more information on this work in: http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2012.37.html
Nature Nanotechnology 6, 625–629 (2011)
Full article in the next link:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110904140353.htm
Experimental demonstration of a single-molecule electric motor
Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
02155-5813, USA
Heather L. Tierney, Colin J. Murphy, April D. Jewell, Ashleigh E. Baber,
Erin V. Iski, Harout Y. Khodaverdian, Allister F. McGuire, Nikolai Klebanov
& E. Charles H. Sykes
Published online 25 March 2012
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.142
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