These linked-together molecules, like other nanomaterials, have fascinating capabilities that can be “tuned” by modifying their size and chemical makeup. As a result, they have the potential to be beneficial for a wide range of applications, including specialized sensors and novel types of electronics.
It's a new topology for carbon nanomaterials, and we’re finding new properties that we haven't been able to see before. James May is a graduate student in chemistry Professor Ramesh Jasti’s lab. The study was published on January 12th, 2023, in the Nature Chemistry journal. Graphene eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a free copy Despite the fact that other types of interlocking molecules have been created, the Jasti lab’s method allows carbon nanotube-like structures to be joined together. It will enable chemists to examine the properties of the new materials in more depth by allowing them to make several different variations on the structure.
Because we're able to make these circular structures at will, I started thinking, could you make things that just don't exist in nature? That's where this idea of interlocking rings came in. Identifying a series of chemical reactions that could generate complex ring structures required a creative approach. Their technique is based on strategically placing a metal atom in one of the rings.
However, Jasti’s group is more interested in their potential as sensors, where a change in the location of the rings in reaction to a certain chemical could result in fluorescent light. Typical carbon nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, graphene or even diamond are static materials. Here, we have created new types of carbon nanomaterials that maintain their fascinating electrical and optical properties but now have capability to do things like rotate, compress, or stretch.