Repetitive Rolling of Triptycene-Based Molecules on Cu Surfaces.

The metal surface-supported rotation of artificial molecular structures is technologically important for developing molecular-level devices. The key factors leading to the practical applications of these molecular machines on metal surfaces are the atomic-scale control of the rotation and the counterbalance of the temperature-driven instability of the molecules. In this work, we present a means by which triptycene-based molecular wheels can roll repetitively on a metal surface.