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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

The art of building small: from molecular switches to molecular motors.

Bernard Feringa
- 13 Jul 2007 - 
- Vol. 72, Iss: 18, pp 6635-6652
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TLDR
In this article, the authors discuss progress in the design, synthesis, and functioning of photochemical and electrochemical switches and chemical and light-driven molecular motors and discuss the anchoring of molecular motors on surfaces and molecular motors at work.
Abstract
Molecular switches and motors are essential components of artificial molecular machines. In this perspective, we discuss progress in our design, synthesis, and functioning of photochemical and electrochemical switches and chemical and light-driven molecular motors. Special emphasis is given to the control of a range of functions and properties, including luminescence, self-assembly, motion, color, conductance, transport, and chirality. We will also discuss our efforts to control mechanical movement at the molecular level, a feature that is at the heart of molecular motors and machines. The anchoring of molecular motors on surfaces and molecular motors at work are discussed.

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Citations
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Artificial Molecular Machines

TL;DR: The latest generations of sophisticated synthetic molecular machine systems in which the controlled motion of subcomponents is used to perform complex tasks are discussed, paving the way to applications and the realization of a new era of “molecular nanotechnology”.
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Great expectations: can artificial molecular machines deliver on their promise?

TL;DR: This tutorial review seeks to draw an all-important distinction between artificial molecular switches which are now ten a penny-or a dime a dozen-in the chemical literature and artificial molecular machines which are few and far between despite the ubiquitous presence of their naturally occurring counterparts in living systems.
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Mechanically Interlocked Molecules (MIMs)-Molecular Shuttles, Switches, and Machines (Nobel Lecture).

TL;DR: How being able to template the formation of mechanically interlocked molecules has led to the design and synthesis of shuttles, switches, and machines at the nanoscale is described.
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Artificial molecular motors

TL;DR: This work focuses on the control of directional movement, both at the molecular scale and at larger magnitudes, and identifies some key challenges remaining in the field.
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Chirality and Chiroptical Effects in Plasmonic Nanostructures: Fundamentals, Recent Progress, and Outlook

TL;DR: This Progress Report highlights four different strategies which have been used to achieve giant chiroptical effects in chiral nanostructures, and presents two examples of chiral switches, where switching the chirality of incoming light causes a reversal of the handedness in the nanostructure.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Synthetic molecular motors and mechanical machines.

TL;DR: The exciting successes in taming molecular-level movement thus far are outlined, the underlying principles that all experimental designs must follow, and the early progress made towards utilizing synthetic molecular structures to perform tasks using mechanical motion are highlighted.
Journal ArticleDOI

Catalytic Nanomotors: Autonomous Movement of Striped Nanorods

TL;DR: By solving the convection-diffusion equation in the frame of the moving rod, it was found that the interfacial tension force scales approximately as SR(2)gamma/muDL, where S is the area-normalized oxygen evolution rate, gamma is the liquid-vapor interfacial pressure, R is the rod radius, mu is the viscosity, D is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen, and L is the length of the rod.
Journal ArticleDOI

Light-driven monodirectional molecular rotor

TL;DR: In this article, the authors report repetitive, monodirectional rotation around a central carbon-carbon double bond in a chiral, helical alkene, with each 360° rotation involving four discrete isomerization steps activated by ultraviolet light or a change in the temperature of the system.
Journal ArticleDOI

Making molecular machines work

TL;DR: This review will address the advances towards the construction of synthetic machines that can perform useful functions, including molecular rotors, elevators, valves, transporters, muscles and other motor functions used to develop smart materials.
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