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2005 Nuggets

Building and moving a nanocar.
K.Kelly, J.Tour, P.Weiss, IRG2

A long term goal of our work is to create electrical, optical, or mechanical sensors or actuators for organizing materials at nanoscale dimensions. To this end, we have designed, synthesized, and imaged a nanoscale molecular motor or "nanocar", consisting of two sets fullerene "wheels" attached to hydrocarbon "axles" that are connected to a chassis. In the current arrangement, the chassis is off-axis from the axles, which enables clear identification of the nanocar's orientation. These nanocars can be deposited on graphite surfaces and imaged by scanning tunneling microscopy. When the samples are heated, the cars move over the surface driven by thermal energy. More importantly when tip-sample distances are reduced, the cars can be pushed parallel to their chassis by the probe tip, demonstrating we have rudimentary control over these motors. We are currently investigating whether the fullerenes are rolling or sliding across the surface, and we are functionalizing the chassis with charged groups to enable manipulation by external electric.