Measuring and controlling single molecule motions in supramolecular surface structures

AEI 29

Tao Ye, tuy1@psu.edu1, Tomohide Takami, takami@visionarts.co.jp2, Jianzhuang Jiang3, James M. Tour4, Byung-chan Yu4, and Paul S. Weiss, stm@psu.edu1. (1) Departments of Chemistry and Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, (2) Visionarts Research, Inc, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, (3) Department of Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China, (4) Departments of Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005
Measuring and controlling motions, as well as extracting useful work out of single molecules is at the forefront of nanoscale science. To achieve this end, we need to constrain the degrees of freedom of these molecules. We seek to understand and to control rotary motions in supramolecular surface structures of double decker sandwich complexes (DDs), where rings of porphyrin derivatives are connected by a lanthanide center. We control spacings and orientations of DDs using both molecular design and self-assembly. The location of the rotor molecules can be controlled via scanning tunneling microcopy (STM) tip manipulation. STM observations of the DDs in a controlled local environment reveal that the rotary motions proceed via activated hopping. We discuss our efforts to control rotation through photoexcitation, electrochemistry, and chemical binding.
 

Academic Employment Initiative
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, 11 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Hall D, Sci-Mix

Academic Employment Initiative

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006