Dr Timothy Barendt Has Article Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society

Christ Church Junior Research Fellow Dr Timothy Barendt has had an article published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, one of the leading international general chemistry journals. The weekly, peer-reviewed journal was established in 1879, publishing original research papers in all fields of chemistry and interfacing areas of science.

The paper relates to research being undertaken on molecular machines. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry highlighted the importance of molecular machines and their potential to revolutionise the field of nanotechnology. To further progress, chemists must continue to develop methods to direct the nanoscale movements of individual molecules in a similar fashion to the control exerted over the moving parts of macroscopic machines familiar to us in everyday life. A category of molecules known as catenanes (derived from the Latin catena meaning "chain") provide ideal candidates for doing this; they comprise two or more interlocked molecular rings that, akin to the links in the chain of a bracelet, cannot be easily pulled apart and broken, despite not being chemically bonded together. Through careful design, these rings of atoms (known as macrocycles) can rotate around one another, like the moving parts of a motor.

In this publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society the authors describe the synthesis of a novel catenane comprised of three interlocked rings and demonstrate its ability to produce controlled rotary motions using various chemical stimuli in solution. Specifically, this is the first example of a type of rotary motion being facilitated by negatively charge atoms (anions); the addition of anions to the catenane produces controlled molecular motion and a concommitant naked-eye colour change from red to orange. This work lays the foundations for molecular machines of this design to be used as chemical sensors in order to detect biologically and environmentally important negatively charged species.

You can read the paper online on the Journal of the American Chemical Society website.

Dr Barendt has been a Junior Research Fellow in Chemistry at Christ Church since 2016, after completing his Masters and DPhil in Chemistry at the University of Oxford. Now working with Professor Paul Beer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, his research interests include supramolecular chemistry, interlocked molecules, molecular machines and molecular recognition.