In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Profs. Matthew A. Glaser, Meredith D. Betterton, Noel A. Clark, Joseph E. Maclennan and David M. Walba of the University of Colorado and their graduate research students will design and synthesize light-driven molecular motors. The work will be based upon specific small-molecule versions of Brownian ratchets. The specific systems to be employed will be photolabile molecules deposited on well-characterized, low-symmetry substrates. These systems are analogous to biological motor systems.
The potential impact of working, light-driven molecular motors is significant. They might find use in nanoscale rotors, shuttles and switches, artificial muscle systems, chiral separation and detection systems, and ratchet-based force microscopies. The students working on this project will gain experience working on a potentially high-impact project in an intensely interdisciplinary environment.
