Berlin 2015 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 89: Inorganic/Organic Interfaces: Molecular Switches
O 89.14: Talk
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 18:15–18:30, MA 043
A supramolecular motor at work: Rotation and translation of single atoms — Robin Ohmann1,2, •Anja Nickel1,2, Jörg Meyer1,2, Jorge Echeverria3, Maricarmen Grisolia3, Christian Joachim3, Gianaurelio Cuniberti1,2, and Francesca Moresco1,2 — 1Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany — 2Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany — 3GNS & MANA Satellite, CEMES, CNRS, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055 Toulouse Cedex, France
Molecular motors perform rotational and translational movements or undergo conformational changes converting chemical or electrical energy into mechanical energy. Their size can range from large motor proteins to small nanocars or single molecules. While motor proteins are known to transport large intracellular objects, the displacement of a load at the atomic scale by a molecular motor has not been realized so far. Here, we have bound the smallest possible load - a single atom - to a supramolecular motor and, by feeding it with tunneling electrons, we have triggered the motor to move the atom. As a supramolecular motor we use a windmill-shaped supramolecular structure composed of four 4-Acetylbiphenyl molecules which self-assemble on a Au(111) surface. We controllably load the supramolecular motor with single Au adatoms and, by applying voltage pulses with the tip of a STM, we induce the rotation or translation of the motor, thus performing a minute work at the atomic scale, which is enough for the supramolecular motor to move the load.