The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for the development of the synthesis of molecular machines

The researchers from the Netherlands, France and the USA have developed innovative synthetic processes for the production of molecular machines - artificial muscles and tiny motors, complex chemical structures whose movement is a key component of their activity.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three researchers: Jean-Pierre Sauvage from the University of Strasbourg in France; Sir J. Fraser Stoddart from Northwestern University in Illinois, USA; and Bernard L. Feringa from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

The researchers developed innovative synthetic processes for the production of molecular machines - artificial muscles and tiny motors, complex chemical structures whose movement is a key component of their activity.

The development of high-speed computing demonstrated how miniaturization of technology can lead to scientific revolutions. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2016 is awarded for the contribution of three researchers to the field of miniaturized machines and for advancing the field of chemistry to a new dimension.
The first step towards a molecular machine was made by Jean-Pierre Sauvage in 1983, when he managed to connect two ring-shaped molecules to form chains, called catenanes. Normally, molecules are bound to each other by strong covalent bonds where the atoms share their electrons, but in the chain structure they were joined together by another type of chemical bond, a mechanical bond. In order for a machine, any machine, to be able to perform its intended task, it must contain parts that are able to move from side to side. The two rings intertwined inside each other fulfill this condition.

The second step was taken by James Fraser Stoddart in 1991, when he developed the family of molecules called rotaxane. The researcher was able to thread a tiny molecular rod through a molecular ring and demonstrated how the ring is able to move along the axis. Some of his developments based on this family of molecules are a molecular elevator, a molecular muscle and even a computer chip based on a molecular structure.
Bernard Feringa was the first researcher who succeeded in developing a molecular motor; In 1999 he succeeded in synthesizing a rotor blade that rotated continuously in the same direction. Using molecular motors, the researchers were able to rotate a glass cylinder many times larger than the motor itself, and in addition they were able to synthesize a nanocar.

The winners of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry advanced the field of molecular systems into high-energy states in which movement can be controlled. In terms of their stages of development, the molecular engine is at the same stage as the electric engine was in the 19s, when scientists developed the first wheels and cranks, without being aware that they were leading to the development of electric trains, washing machines, ventilators, electric fans and even processors Homemade food. Molecular machines will most likely be used in the development of innovative materials, more efficient and smaller detectors and energy storage systems.