Molecular Machines: Natural and Artificial Molecular Motors

摘要

Artificial molecular motors are a natural extension of biological motors, which have evolved to perform many different functions in living organisms. Homo sapiens is further adapting biomotors to drive nanoscale devices. Artificial motors are of keen interest because they can potentially work faster than biomotors, they can be more robust, and they can be driven and controlled by light. Chemists have designed many types of chemically-powered and light-powered rotary molecular motors and some have been shown to undergo unidirectional rotation. Molecular dynamics simulations and photoisomerization studies have also underscored the feasibility of the authors' own photon-driven ratchet design.