The structural anisotropy necessary for the powered directional rotation of chemically fuelled molecular motors had previously been provided by chiral fuels or enzymes. Now it has been shown that asym...

Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say

Radical chain initiation strategies are fundamental to the synthesis of small molecule drugs and macromolecular materials. Here a general, thermally driven and scalable method for reductive initiation...

This highlight underscores the most straightforward synthesis of [2]catenanes from readily available molecular precursors: The one-pot, two-step catenane formation from a crown ether, a linear diamin...

An abiotic information ratchet mechanism increases selectivity for the correct DNA duplex from 2:1 at equilibrium to 6:1 under energy-dissipating conditions.

We report the in situ quantification of directional rotation of a new type of catalysis-driven rotary motor featuring a phenyl carboxylic acid rotor attached to a 7-azaindole-N-oxide stator through a biaryl C–N bond. Continuous directional rotation of the rotor about the stator is driven by the achiral motor’s rotary catalysis of carbodiimide hydration in the presence of a chiral pyrrolidinylpyridine-N-oxide. The catalytic cycle features an intermediate O-acyl-azaindole-N-oxide ester tether formed between the carboxylic acid of the rotor and the N-oxide of the stator. Face-selective cleavage of the tether by the chiral pyrrolidinylpyridine-N-oxide additive generates relatively long-lived diastereomeric pyridine-N-oxide esters of the phenyl carboxylic acid. These are hydrolyzed during the catalytic cycle to reform the carboxylic acid resting state of the motor, completing net directional 360° rotation. In contrast to previous catalysis-driven motor-molecules, the motor’s directionality could be determined directly from the transient concentrations of the diastereomeric intermediates formed during rotary catalysis. This avoids reliance on restricted rotation models to assess motor directionality and provides direct access to other key performance indicators such as motor speed and catalytic, coupling and fuel efficiency. The in situ-determined directionality of the motor was found to be in excellent agreement with the directionality determined from a restricted rotation model, supporting both the efficacy of the new approach and the validity of using appropriately designed restricted rotation models. The results establish a straightforward method for the in situ quantification of various aspects of motor behavior, aiding the design and optimization of artificial molecular motors.

Autonomous energy consumption is the only way to introduce molecular motors into more sophisticated, larger systems, capable of life-like behavior. We reviewed a selection of the most recent advances...