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HEIndividual fellowship2022–2024

RedSwiMot · Redox-driven Switches and Motors

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
EU contribution
€187,624
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Redox-driven Switches and Motors

Molecular switches and machines – the tiniest analogues of macroscopic machinery – have the potential to generate enormous impact across multiple scientific and technological applications. This includes, among others, smart materials, soft robotics, energy storage, advanced (molecular) computing, biomedicine and many more. However, this large application scope has only been partially explored. The by far most commonly used energy input to control molecular switches and machines remains light, as it is a convenient source of energy in many applications and can be applied with high spatiotemporal control. This has resulted in the development of numerous photoswitches and light-driven motors and their proof-of-principle applications. In contrast, control of such systems via electrochemical stimulation (i.e. redox) remains much less explored, in spite of its appeal in applications where light may not be an ideal stimulus (for example in opaque environments or at the interface with existing electrical nanotechnologies). This can in part be attributed to the relative lack of redox-active switches that undergo well-defined geometric changes with high reversibility. One such switch is the overcrowded alkene bisthioxanthylidene (BTX), a fatigue-resistant light and redox-responsive multi-state switching scaffold. The objective of this project was to further investigate the fundamental (redox) switching properties of BTX and novel derivatives thereof and to elucidate important design principles of this class of switches. This improved understanding is expected to contribute to the development of the next generation of redox-switches with numerous potential applications such as those listed above.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Artificial molecular machines can not only exploit rotary or linear molecular motion to perform useful functions, but can also elucidate the operational principles of Nature´s biomolecular analogues, which underpin a myriad of crucial biochemical processes. Electrochemically controlling these systems is a particularly promising approach to achieve a high degree of (spatial) control, reusability, sustainability and ease of interfacing with existing electrical (nano)technologies and can furthermore be utilised in solid materials or gels. In spite of these advantages, they remain considerably underexplored.In this MSCA-PF action, we aim to address this challenge in developing redox-driven conformational switches based on the overcrowded alkene bisthioxanthylidine (BTX). As a result of their synthetic adaptability, and versatile multistate switching properties, redox-driven BTX rotors are ideally suited to complement, or even surpass, the ubiquitous light-driven overcrowded alkene motors, particularly in opaque and interfacial environments. In order to develop this capability we propose the first systematic investigation into both the fundamental redox-switching properties of BTX derivatives and also, for the first time, demonstrate their utility in various proof-of-principle applications, including switchable ion-recognition and stimuli-responsive interfaces. This work will furthermore lay the foundation for the development of the first, true unidirectional-redox driven overcrowded alkene motors, a long sought-after, but thus far elusive, goal. These pioneering efforts will not only provide invaluable insights into the operational principles of redox switches, and molecular machines in general, but will also pave the way towards their exploitation in numerous industrial, biomedical and environmental applications, especially where light-driven systems are not applicable.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenCoordinatorNetherlands

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union