A nanometric molecular gear
A nanometric molecular gear

A nanometric molecular gear

Gears and mechanical transmissions are at home in the Emilia-Romagna region, the Motor Valley of northern Italy. A team of researchers from the University of Bologna and the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity of the National Research Council (Cnr-Isof) in Bologna, led by Massimo Baroncini and Alberto Credi, has planned, constructed and operated NanoGear, a device consisting of interlocked molecular components and designed to function as a gear. Since molecules are nanometric objects (1 nanometer = 1 millionth of a millimiter), it is an exceedingly small device: certainly, the tiniest gear ever produced in the Italian land of motors.

While it is currently difficult to identify a specific use of NanoGear, the basic research that led to its development has a revolutionary potential for science and technology that goes far beyond short-term practical applications”.

The study has been published in the journal Chem with the title “Stereodynamics of E/Z isomerization in rotaxanes through mechanical shuttling and covalent bond rotation”.