Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface

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,...

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Main Authors: Saywell, Alexander, Bakker, Anne, Mielke, Johannes, Kumagai, Takashi, Wolf, Martin, García-López, Víctor, Chiang, Pinn-Tsong, Tour, James M., Grill, Leonhard
Format: Article
Published: American Chemical Society 2016
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38562/
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author Saywell, Alexander
Bakker, Anne
Mielke, Johannes
Kumagai, Takashi
Wolf, Martin
García-López, Víctor
Chiang, Pinn-Tsong
Tour, James M.
Grill, Leonhard
author_facet Saywell, Alexander
Bakker, Anne
Mielke, Johannes
Kumagai, Takashi
Wolf, Martin
García-López, Víctor
Chiang, Pinn-Tsong
Tour, James M.
Grill, Leonhard
author_sort Saywell, Alexander
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description 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.
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spelling nottingham-385622020-05-04T18:15:27Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38562/ Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface Saywell, Alexander Bakker, Anne Mielke, Johannes Kumagai, Takashi Wolf, Martin García-López, Víctor Chiang, Pinn-Tsong Tour, James M. Grill, Leonhard 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. American Chemical Society 2016-10-26 Article PeerReviewed Saywell, Alexander, Bakker, Anne, Mielke, Johannes, Kumagai, Takashi, Wolf, Martin, García-López, Víctor, Chiang, Pinn-Tsong, Tour, James M. and Grill, Leonhard (2016) Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface. ACS Nano, 10 (12). pp. 10945-10952. ISSN 1936-086X Diffusion Molecular devices Molecular motor Scanning probe microscopy Photoexcitation Photochemistry Molecular machines http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.6b05650 doi:10.1021/acsnano.6b05650 doi:10.1021/acsnano.6b05650
spellingShingle Diffusion
Molecular devices
Molecular motor
Scanning probe microscopy
Photoexcitation
Photochemistry
Molecular machines
Saywell, Alexander
Bakker, Anne
Mielke, Johannes
Kumagai, Takashi
Wolf, Martin
García-López, Víctor
Chiang, Pinn-Tsong
Tour, James M.
Grill, Leonhard
Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title_full Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title_fullStr Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title_full_unstemmed Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title_short Light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
title_sort light-induced translation of motorized molecules on a surface
topic Diffusion
Molecular devices
Molecular motor
Scanning probe microscopy
Photoexcitation
Photochemistry
Molecular machines
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38562/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38562/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38562/