Researchers from Lund University, Sweden, have created a fairly simple molecule of a type of hydrocarbon, which electrically acts as a logic switch. In other words, this molecule is a tiny molecular transistor, on the basis of which it will be possible to create more complex logic circuits and even elements of high-performance and energy-efficient processors.
“We have developed a hydrocarbon molecule that, when exposed to an applied electric potential, changes its shape slightly,” the researchers write, “But the most interesting thing is that depending on its current shape, this molecule can conduct electric current, and when in another form, it is an electrical insulator.”
Scientists began developing the new molecule with the benzene ring, a hexagonal ring made up of six carbon atoms, very similar to the lattice element of graphene. But it turned out that benzene rings could not change their shape under the influence of electric potential, and scientists turned their attention to rings consisting of eight carbon atoms. Further experiments showed that the applied electric potential forced such a ring to bend, changing its shape and some physical, chemical and electrical properties. It turned out that only two additional electrons were required to bend the ring.
“A unique aspect of the new molecule is its simplicity,” the researchers write, “It consists only of carbon and hydrogen atoms. This means that the synthesis of such molecules will be simple and the cost of the final product will be low.
In their future research, Swedish scientists plan to investigate some molecules of other anticyclic (anti-aromatic) hydrocarbons for their use as electric keys, transistors and elements of molecular electromechanical systems.
“Molecules capable of changing shape and properties under the influence of an electric potential open up a host of new possibilities for us,” the researchers write, “One can imagine high-performance and low-consumption processors of a completely new architecture, molecular machines doing work on the smallest possible scale, molecular factories capable of producing various products, and much more.”