Plug-and-play molecular gears
AlPc molecules on Pb(100) can rotate between two stable orientations; by arranging them into dimers and trimers via STM, they become mechanically interlocked and rotate collectively, enabling modular construction of molecular gears.
Li, Chao · Yan, Lu · Li, Ruoning · Wang, Li · Weismann, Alexander · Berndt, Richard
Nano Letters 2025
AlPc molecules on Pb(100) exhibit two stable azimuthal orientations
Induced collective rotation of all molecules in trimers demonstrates mechanical interlocking
DFT calculations indicate a relatively low rotation barrier for single molecules
52 experimentally determined trimer geometries are reproduced using DFT-derived potential functions