A family of electron-triggered molecular motors based on aromatic building blocks

We present our strategy to control the rotation in a molecular rotary motor and the synthesis of a family of ruthenium complexes designed to perform such a task. The molecules have a piano-stool structure with a "stator" meant to be grafted on an oxide surface, and a "rotor" bearing redox-active ferrocene groups, so that addressing the molecule with nanoelectrodes would trigger rotation. The rigidity of the structure is allowed by the use of aromatic building blocks both in the stator and in the rotor fragments.