Mechanical control of molecular machines at an air–water interface: manipulation of molecular pliers, paddles

Many artificial molecular machines have been synthesized, and various functions have been expressed by changing their molecular conformations. However, their structures are still simple compared with those of biomolecular machines, and more energy is required to control them. To design artificial molecular machines with more complex structures and higher functionality, it is necessary to combine molecular machines with simple movements such as components. This means that the motion of individual molecular machines must be precisely controlled and observed in various environments. At the air – water interface, the molecular orientation and conformation can be controlled with little energy as thermal fluctuations. We designed various molecular machines and controlled them using mechanical stimuli at the air – water interface. We also controlled the transfer of forces to the molecular machines in various lipid matrices. In this review, we describe molecular pliers with amphiphilic binaphthyl, molecular paddles with binuclear platinum complexes, and molecular rotors with julolidine and BODIPY that exhibit twisted intramolecular charge transfer.