An international research group led by Chiba University Professor Shiki Yagai has for the first time developed self-assembled polycatenanes, structures comprised of mechanically interlocked small molecule rings. The research group also succeeded in observing the geometric structure of the polycatenanes via atomic force microscopy (AFM). This work, published in the journal Nature, is the first to achieve synthesis of nano-polycatenanes through molecular self-assembly without using additional molecular templates. Yagai, a professor of applied chemistry and biotechnology at Chiba University, sees this as the first vital step in technological innovation for creating nanometer-sized topological structures.
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Source: Phys.org