Mechanically Interlocked Molecules (MIMs)-Molecular Shuttles, Switches, and Machines (Nobel Lecture)

Abstract

Chemistry welcomes a new bond: The mechanical bond has endowed molecules with component parts whose movements can be controlled and monitored. In his Nobel Lecture, J. F. Stoddart describes how being able to template the formation of mechanically interlocked molecules has led to the design and synthesis of shuttles, switches, and machines at the nanoscale.

Keywords: catenanes; mechanically interlocked molecules; molecular machines; rotaxanes; supramolecular chemistry.