Intramolecular transport of small-molecule cargo in a nanoscale device operated by light

Abstract

An intramolecular cargo transport device, based on a light-driven molecular motor, is presented. Detailed UV-vis and ¹H NMR studies demonstrate that the gripper attached to the upper half of the molecular motor is able to pick up an acetyl group from one side of the lower stator and, after a photochemical Z–E isomerization, drop it on the opposite side.