A single-molecule van der Waals compass
Single-molecule imaging is challenging but highly beneficial for investigating intermolecular interactions at the molecular level 1 – 6 . Van der Waals interactions at the sub-nanometre scale strongly influence various molecular behaviours under confinement conditions 7 – 11 . Inspired by the tradit...
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| Vydáno v: | Nature (London) Ročník 592; číslo 7855; s. 541 - 544 |
|---|---|
| Hlavní autoři: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Médium: | Journal Article |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Vydáno: |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
22.04.2021
Nature Publishing Group |
| Témata: | |
| ISSN: | 0028-0836, 1476-4687, 1476-4687 |
| On-line přístup: | Získat plný text |
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| Shrnutí: | Single-molecule imaging is challenging but highly beneficial for investigating intermolecular interactions at the molecular level
1
–
6
. Van der Waals interactions at the sub-nanometre scale strongly influence various molecular behaviours under confinement conditions
7
–
11
. Inspired by the traditional compass
12
, here we use a
para
-xylene molecule as a rotating pointer to detect the host–guest van der Waals interactions in the straight channel of the MFI-type zeolite framework. We use integrated differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy
13
–
15
to achieve real-space imaging of a single
para
-xylene molecule in each channel. A good correlation between the orientation of the single-molecule pointer and the atomic structure of the channel is established by combining the results of calculations and imaging studies. The orientations of
para
-xylene help us to identify changes in the van der Waals interactions, which are related to the channel geometry in both spatial and temporal dimensions. This work not only provides a visible and sensitive means to investigate host–guest van der Waals interactions in porous materials at the molecular level, but also encourages the further study of other single-molecule behaviours using electron microscopy techniques.
The orientation of a rotating
para
-xylene molecule in the nanochannel of a zeolite framework can be visualised by electron microscopy to determine the host–guest van der Waals interaction inside the channel. |
|---|---|
| Bibliografie: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 1476-4687 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-021-03429-y |