Theoretical design of a dual-motor nanorotator composed of all-carboatomic cyclo[18]carbon and a figure-of-eight carbon hoop

Zeyu Liu; Xia Wang; Tian Lu; Xiufen Yan; Jiaojiao Wang; Yang Wu; Jingbo Xu; Zhibo Xie

doi:10.1039/d3cc02262e

Theoretical design of a dual-motor nanorotator composed of all-carboatomic cyclo[18]carbon and a figure-of-eight carbon hoop

Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 Aug 8;59(64):9770-9773. doi: 10.1039/d3cc02262e.

Authors

Zeyu Liu¹, Xia Wang¹, Tian Lu², Xiufen Yan¹, Jiaojiao Wang¹, Yang Wu¹, Jingbo Xu¹, Zhibo Xie¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, People's Republic of China.
² Beijing Kein Research Center for Natural Sciences, Beijing 100022, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 37486103
DOI: 10.1039/d3cc02262e

Abstract

A novel supramolecular complex (2C₁₈@OPP) constructed from two kinds of unique nanorings, all-carboatomic cyclo[18]carbon (C₁₈) and figure-of-eight carbon hoop (OPP), has been studied theoretically from the perspective of an extraordinary dual-motor nanorotator. The rotational barrier of C₁₈ in OPP is extremely small at ambient temperature, implying the possibility of the host-guest complex as an ultrafast nanorotator. The rotational characteristics and thermodynamic stability of the nanorotator at different temperatures were then explored. The rotational behaviors of the two C₁₈ rings in OPP are basically independent of each other. The supramolecule investigated in this work is the first example of a dual-motor nanorotator that promises to be an important building block for constructing complicated molecular machines.