The first car made from molecules

A team of researchers at Rice University in Texas has announced that it has successfully developed the world's first molecular car, operating on a gold microscope.

This tiny car does not have a seat as well as conventional steering gear, but it is the real solution for cities that are always stuck.

The miniature car rolls by translational motion and rotation.
" The successful production of a molecular car has marked the first step toward micro-level production, " said James M Tour, associate professor and co-author of the study.

The molecular car consists of a chassis and two axles made from phenylene ethynylene with a central rotation system and free rotating axles. The wheel is made from balls of pure carbon (fullerene), each containing 60 atoms. Palladium catalysts are used to generate the necessary response to align the shaft and the chassis together.

The entire car has a width of 3-4 nanometers , a little wider than the width of the DNA strands. Imagine a human hair that is about 80,000 nanometers in diameter.

The assembly of the axles and chassis in only six months, but fitting the fullerene wheel is much more difficult, because according to scientists, the material used - fullerenes - is not compatible with the needle transfer catalysts. species. However, this difficulty is also overcome.

The team found that the car was quite stable on the surface, and remained in place until the surface temperature was heated to 170 degrees Celsius, probably due to the good adhesion between the wheels and the surface. in gold below. This golden surface helps the wheelchair to go, rather than sliding like on ice.

After the car product, the team designed a nano trolley that could carry molecular goods. The development of such devices has opened up new horizons for the field of molecular technology.

T. An ( according to Physorg )