We have investigated at the atomic level amide-based rotaxanes set in motion in four different solvents, namely, ethyl ether, acetonitrile, ethanol and water. In three non-aqueous solvents, shuttling of the macrocycle between two binding sites separated by a free-energy barrier is coupled with a conformational change and rotation, driven primarily by hydrogen-bonding interactions. The mechanism that underlies the shuttling is completely altered when the non-aqueous solvent is replaced by water. In aqueous solution, hydrophobic interactions chiefly control shuttling of the rotaxane, leading to a sharp decrease of the free-energy barrier, thereby speeding up the process. The binding sites and the reaction pathway describing shuttling vary significantly in water compared with in the other three solvents. We found that the high polarity, the hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor ability, and the minimal steric hindrance of water conspire to modify the mechanism. These three physicochemical properties are also responsible for the lubrication by water. That water completely changes the mechanism underlying the shuttling of rotaxanes, is addressed for the first time in this study, and provides valuable guidelines for the de novo design of molecular machines.
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