Transition metal complexes as molecular machine prototypes.
The field of molecular machines, i.e. multicomponent systems able to undergo large amplitude motions under the action of an external signal, has experienced a spectacular development since the beginning of the 1990s. Transition metal complexes have played an important role in this context, often as components of catenanes and rotaxanes. The present tutorial review will discuss a few systems of this type, taken from the contributions of our group or from others. The stimulus responsible for the controlled motion of the machine can be chemical, electrochemical, or photochemical. Examples of these three categories will be considered.
Champin
Benoît
B
Laboratoire de Chimie Organo-Minérale, LC 3, UMR 7177 du CNRS, Université Louis Pasteur, Faculté de Chimie, 67070 Strasbourg Cedex, France.
Mobian
Pierre
P
Sauvage
Jean-Pierre
JP