Chirality-Specific Unidirectional Rotation of Molecular Motors on Cu(111).

ABSTRACT: Molecular motors have chemical properties that enable unidirectional motion, thus breaking microscopic reversibility. They are well studied in solution, but much less is known regarding their behavior on solid surfaces. Here, single motor molecules adsorbed on a Cu(111) surface are excited by voltages pulses from an STM tip, which leads to their rotation around a fixed pivot point. Comparison with calculations shows that this axis results from a chemical bond of a sulfur atom in the chemical structure and a metal atom of the surface. While statistics show approximately equal rotations in both directions, clockwise and anticlockwise, a detailed study reveals that these motions are enantiomer-specific. Hence, the rotation direction of each individual molecule depends on its chirality, which

SUBMITTER: Schied M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9979643 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature