engleski

Light Effected Autonomous Molecular Pumps and Reservoirs

The control of motion on the molecular scale is of fundamental importance for living organisms, but the construction of synthetic molecular machines able to operate autonomously and perform a specific task remains one of the most intriguing challenges in supramolecular chemistry and nanoscience. Here, we present a dissipative self-assembling pseudorotaxane system that utilizes light as external source of energy needed to perform directed molecular motion in a cyclic manner away from chemical equilibrium. Upon light irradiation, macrocycles are transported through the thread unidirectionally, making the system behave as a molecular pump. It operates by dissipating irradiation energy in an autonomous fashion and in accordance to both energy and information ratchet mechanisms. The described light-powered molecular pump can further be modified and expanded to a more complex architecture comprising a reservoir. In this way, in addition to pumping, the macrocycles can be trapped in the reservoir, in a higher energy state, once light of appropriate wavelength is shined on the system.

molecular pump ; molecular machines ; light ; directional motion ; self-assembly

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