Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface

Saywell, Alexander; Bakker, Anne; Mielke, Johannes; Kumagai, Takashi; Wolf, Martin; Garc�a-L�pez, V�ctor; Chiang, Pinn Tsong; Tour, James M.; Grill, Leonhard

Abstract

Molecular machines are a key component in the vision of molecular nanotechnology and have the potential to transport molecular species and cargo on surfaces. The motion of such machines should be triggered remotely, ultimately allowing a large number of molecules to be propelled by a single source, with light being an attractive stimulus. Here, we report upon the photoinduced translation of molecular machines across a surface by characterizing single molecules before and after illumination. Illumination of molecules containing a motor unit results in an enhancement in the diffusion of the molecules. The effect vanishes if an incompatible photon energy is used or if the motor unit is removed from the molecule, revealing that the enhanced motion is due to the presence of the wavelength-sensitive motor in each molecule.

Citation

Saywell, A., Bakker, A., Mielke, J., Kumagai, T., Wolf, M., García-López, V., …Grill, L. (2016). Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface. ACS Nano, 10(12), 10945-10952. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b05650

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 26, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Oct 26, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 27, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 7, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 7, 2016
• Journal: ACS Nano
• Print ISSN: 1936-0851
• Electronic ISSN: 1936-086X
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 10945-10952
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b05650
• Keywords: Diffusion, Molecular devices, Molecular motor, Scanning probe microscopy, Photoexcitation, Photochemistry,; Molecular machines
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/821580
• Publisher URL: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.6b05650
• Additional Information: This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Nano, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b05650