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Abstract
We reported the synthesis and characterization of a new type of photoisomerizable molecule (Z)-5-(anthracen-9-ylmethylene)-3-butylthiazolidine-2,4-dione (C4-ATD), whose Z/E isomerization induces large geometry changes but only slight changes in its absorption profile. Acicular micro-molecular crystals made from C4-ATD were fabricated using the seeded growth method from aqueous surfactants. Large aspect ratio microwires exhibit robust and autonomous photomechanical oscillations under a variety of conditions, including normal solar irradiation. Preliminary experiments on other alkyl chain derivatives that contain the ATD motif suggest that oscillatory motion is a general characteristic of this family of molecular crystals. The combination of photochrome design and crystal engineering enables the concept of molecular machines fueled by light to be extended to molecular crystals, whose directional work can easily overcome Brownian noise in room-temperature liquids.
Supplementary materials
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Optical Microscope: Microwire crystal showing oscillatory rotation under CW 405 nm light.
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Optical Microscope: Sets of microwire crystals showing oscillatory rotation under CW 405 nm light.
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Optical Microscope: Microwire crystal exhibiting oscillatory flexing under simulated solar sunlight.
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Optical Microscope: Microwire crystal with a defect displaying exaggerated rotation under CW 405 nm light. (Fig 3a-e)
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Optical Microscope: Microwire crystal showing translational motion across field-of-view under CW 405 nm light. (Fig 3f-h)
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Optical Microscope: Microwire crystal showing rotation in place under CW 405 nm light. (Fig 4a)
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Optical Microscope: Microribbon fused to a microwire collaboratively working together to sweep a particle across the field-of-view under CW 405 nm light. (Fig S4)
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Optical Microscope: Two microwires “walking” across the field-of-view under CW 405 nm light. (Fig S5)
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Optical Microscope: Microribbon exhibiting nonuniform flexing under CW 405 nm light. (Fig S6)
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