An electric motor consisting of a single molecule

The smallest electric motor in the world, at least according to the Guinness Book of Records, is 200 nanometers in size

The smallest electric motor in the world, at least according to the Guinness Book of Records, is 200 nanometers in size.

Chemists from Tufts University (Tufts, a large private university located near Boston in Massachusetts) have developed the world's smallest electric motor based on a single molecule, a development that could lead to the preparation of a completely new family of devices that could be used in a variety of applications ranging from medicine to engineering.
In the study, the findings of which were published in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology, the team of scientists reports on an electric motor that is no more than one nanometer in length, a groundbreaking finding in light of the fact that the world record currently stands for a motor with a length of 200 nanometers. The researchers intend to submit their findings to the Guinness Book of Records.

"In recent years, significant progress has been made in the construction of molecular motors powered by light and by chemical reactions, but this is the first time ever that the activity of molecular motors based on electricity has been demonstrated," says the lead researcher. "We were able to show that it is possible to supply electricity to a single molecule and make it perform actions that are not random."

The researchers were able to control the molecular motor using electricity using an extremely advanced low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (LT-STM), one of only a hundred such microscopes in the US. This type of microscope uses electrons instead of light to "observe" molecules. The research team used the metal tip of the microscope to supply electricity to a single molecule (butyl-methyl-sulfide) placed on an electrically conductive copper surface. In the molecule that includes the sulfur, there are carbon and hydrogen atoms that look like two arms, with four carbon atoms on one side and a single atom on the other side. These carbon chains were free to oscillate around the sulfur-copper bond.

The researchers realized that by controlling the temperature of the molecule they were able to directly influence its ability to rotate. In the end, the researchers found that a temperature of minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit is the best for tracking the movement of the engine. At this temperature, the researchers were able to monitor all the revolutions of the engine and analyze the data about them.

But although there are expected practical applications for this electric motor, breakthroughs will need to be made in the temperature range at which the electric molecular motor is able to operate. The higher the temperature, the faster the engine rotates, a fact that makes it difficult to measure and control its movement.

"Once we have a better understanding of the temperature required for the operation of these engines, we will be able to develop practical applications that utilize it in sensing and medical devices that include tiny tubes. The friction of the liquid on the walls of the pipe increases on this scale, and the wall coating in these engines could help flow liquids along the pipe," explains the lead researcher. "A combination of molecular movement with electrical signals could also give rise to a miniaturized "gear system" in nanometer electrical circuits; And these can be used in phones and other mobile devices.
The news about the study