title: Controlled Directional Motions of Molecular Vehicles, Rotors, and Motors: From Metallic to Silicon Surfaces, a Strategy to Operate at Higher Temperatures.
abstract: In the last decade, many nanomachines with controlled molecular motions have been studied, mainly on metallic surfaces, which are easy to obtain very clean, and are stable over months. However, the studies of mechanical properties of nanomachines are mainly performed at very low temperatures, usually between 5 and 80 K, which prevents any kind of applications. In this Minireview, we will present our strategy to operate at higher temperatures, in particular through the use of semiconducting silicon surfaces. We also review our best achievements in the field through some examples of rotating molecular machines that have been designed, synthesized, and studied in our groups. On metallic surfaces, the nanovehicles are molecules with two or four triptycenes as wheels and the molecular motor is built around a ruthenium organometallic center with a piano-stool geometry and peripheric ferrocenyl groups. On semiconducting silicon surfaces, vehicles are also made from triptycene fragments and the rotor is a pentaphenylbenzene molecule.
authors.affiliation: Institut FEMTO-ST, Université de Franche-Comté, CNRS, UBFC, 15B Avenue des Montboucons, 25030, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chérioux
authors.affiliation: NanoSciences Group, CEMES, CNRS UPR 8011, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France.|International Collaborative Laboratory for Supraphotoactive Systems, NAIST-CEMES, CNRS UPR 8011, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Galangau
authors.affiliation: Institut FEMTO-ST, Université de Franche-Comté, CNRS, UBFC, 15B Avenue des Montboucons, 25030, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palmino
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France. rapenne@cemes.fr.|NanoSciences Group, CEMES, CNRS UPR 8011, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France. rapenne@cemes.fr.|International Collaborative Laboratory for Supraphotoactive Systems, NAIST-CEMES, CNRS UPR 8011, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France. rapenne@cemes.fr.
authors.forename: Gwénaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rapenne
keywords: gold surfaces; molecular devices; scanning tunneling microscopy; silicon surfaces; single-molecule studies