A research team from Rice University (Texas, USA) has announced the successful development of the world’s first molecular car, which operates on a microscopic gold highway.
This tiny car lacks seats and traditional driving equipment, yet it presents a real solution for cities plagued by traffic congestion.
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| The tiny car moves through translational and rotational motion. |
“The successful fabrication of a molecular car marks the first step towards micro-scale manufacturingphenylene ethynylene with a central rotating system and freely spinning axles. The wheels are spherical structures made from pure carbon (fullerene), with each wheel containing 60 atoms. Palladium catalysts are used to create the necessary reactions to bond the axles and chassis together.
The entire vehicle measures only 3-4 nanometers in width, slightly wider than a DNA strand. To put this in perspective, a human hair has a diameter of about 80,000 nanometers.
Assembling the axles and chassis took just six months, but attaching the fullerene wheels proved much more challenging. According to the scientists, the material used – fullerenes – is not compatible with metal transfer catalysts. However, this challenge was ultimately overcome.
The research team found that the car was quite stable on the surface and remained still until the surface temperature was heated to 170 degrees Celsius, likely due to the strong adhesion between the wheels and the underlying gold surface. This gold surface allows the car to roll rather than slide like it would on ice.
Following the development of the car, the research team designed a nano cart capable of transporting molecular cargo. The advancement of such devices has opened new horizons in the field of molecular technology.
T. An (according to Physorg)
