Archimedes' screw-inspired molecular motor spins on current and boosts it 100-fold

An international team built a helicene-based molecular motor that rotates under an electric current and, while spinning, increases the current through it by up to 100 times. Reversing voltage polarity reverses the rotation direction, and the gap between gold electrodes sets the threshold for current enhancement. The study was published in Nature.

• The few-nanometre helicene molecule attaches to gold electrodes via sulfur atoms
• Rotation is 100% directional, with voltage polarity setting its direction
• Conductance rises by up to two orders of magnitude, roughly 100 times, while spinning
• Calculations predict a shift from stepwise to continuous rotation above a threshold voltage