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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 46: Organic molecules on inorganic substrates: electronic, optical and other properties – Poster
O 46.7: Poster
Dienstag, 10. März 2026, 14:00–16:00, P2
On-Surface Coupling of Feringa-Type Molecular Motors — •David Le1, Grant J. Simpson1, Matthew J. Timm1, Dongdong Liu2, James M. Tour2, and Leonhard Grill1 — 1University of Graz, Austria — 2Rice University, Houston, USA
Artificial molecular motors are fundamental components of nanoscale machines that convert external energy into uni-directional motion. On metallic surfaces, their operation can be probed with sub-molecular precision, allowing observation of rotational pathways and intermediates. In nanomachines, it could be advantageous to have not only one, but several motor units incorporated. However, the synthesis of such complex molecules is very challenging. Here, we studied whether individual Feringa-type motor units can be coupled covalently directly on a Au(111) surface to form bimotors, thus avoiding the complex synthesis and difficult deposition of molecules that contain more than one motor unit. Using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, we identified individual bimotor molecules after the coupling and could resolve distinct conformations. Moreover, conformational transitions and lateral translation could be induced by STM tip manipulation. The results for bimotors are compared with the mono-motors, i.e. before the coupling. Our results demonstrate controlled reactions and manipulation of molecular motors on a metallic surface, supporting the development of more complex nanomachines.
Keywords: Molecular motors; Low-temperature STM; On-surface synthesis; Single-molecule chemistry; Tip-induced manipulation