The 2016 Nobel prize in chemistry was awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage of the University of Strasbourg for the design and synthesis of molecular machines. As a chemistry undergraduate myself, the idea of molecular machines immediately peaked my interests. These machines are no different than the gears that rotate the wheels of our cars and spin the fans that cool the computer chips inside our computers. Now you might be asking, what’s so spectacular about that? The fact is, these machines are so small they are invisible to our naked eye; they are so tiny that even under a magnifying glass you wouldn’t even see a spec.
Jean-Pierre Sauvage and his research team first proposed the idea of molecular machines in 1983 when they successfully linked two ring-shaped molecules into one structure called a “catenane”. The linked rings acted like two gears that can move mechanically with respect to each other just like any other gear in the macroscopic world. This simple discovery has propelled the research till present day. It has now been more than 30 years since the initial proposal of molecular machines with only a two gear system.
This is the crystal structure of catenane discovered by Sauvage and his team in 1985. (c) M stone, released under the GNU Free Documentation License
Jean-Pierre Sauvage and his research team has perfected the simple two-ringed molecule into a sophisticated system of many molecules that can be designed to perform certain tasks when energy is added. As of right now, Sauvage’s team has been able to display spinning of cranks and wheels at the microscopic level. In terms of development, their systems are equivalent to the electric motors during the 1830s. Without a doubt, what Sauvage and his team have discovered is just the tip of the iceberg. These molecular machines could potentially be further developed and used for things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage systems, and I’m excited to see the applications of these molecular motors in our everyday lives. Maybe one day when molecular motors become an integral part of our world, just like the electrical motors we use now, we will look back and truly appreciate Sauvage and the other scientists for the work they have put into developing these amazingly small but complex nano-machines.
-Charlie Wei
References:
Press Release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2016/press.html (accessed Oct 12, 2016).
Jean-Pierre Sauvage – Facts https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2016/sauvage-facts.html (accessed Oct 12, 2016).
Transformations of Fullerene http://www.org-chem.org/yuuki/catenane/catenane_en.html (accessed Oct 12, 2016).
