Imaging of Single Organic Molecules in Motion
Masanori Koshino,1,2
Takatsugu Tanaka,3
Niclas Solin,3
Kazutomo Suenaga,1,2*
Hiroyuki Isobe,3,4*
Eiichi Nakamura1,3*
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed nearly
atomically precise images of stepping conformational change
and translational motion of single hydrocarbon molecules confined
in carbon nanotubes. One or two C12 or C22 alkyl chains were
tethered to a carborane end group and then embedded in the nanotubes.
Images of the hydrocarbon chains interacting with each other
and with a graphitic surface provide information on three-dimensional
structures and dynamic molecular interactions that cannot be
obtained by other analytical methods.
2 Research Center for Advanced Carbon Materials, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan.
3 Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
4 Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO), JST, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Present address: Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: suenaga-kazu{at}aist.go.jp (K.S.); isobe{at}mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp (H.I.); nakamura{at}chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp (E.N.)
