9,10-Dithioanthracene (DTA) is an

organic molecule In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The s ...

and a derivative of

anthracene Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) of formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal tar. Anthracene is used in the Economic production, production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes ...

with two

thiol In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl gro ...

groups. In 2004 DTA molecules were demonstrated to be able to "walk" in a straight line (reportedly a first ) on a metal surface by, in effect, mimicking the

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...

motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...

of a human being. The sulfur-bearing functional groups on either side (referred to as "linkers") serve as the molecule's "feet". When the compound is heated on a flat

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

surface, the linkers raise up, alternating from side to side, and propel the molecule forward. During testing at UC Riverside's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the molecule took about 10,000 unassisted nano-scale steps, moving in a straight line without requiring the assistance of nano-rails or nano-grooves for guidance. As described by one of the researchers, "Similar to a human walking, where one foot is kept on the ground while the other moves forward and propels the body, our molecule always has one linker on a flat surface, which prevents the molecule from stumbling to the side or veering off course." Researchers believe the project could lead to the development of

molecular computer DNA computing is an emerging branch of unconventional computing which uses DNA, biochemistry, and molecular biology hardware, instead of the traditional electronic computing. Research and development in this area concerns theory, experiments, a ...

s in which DTA or other similar molecules would function as nano-abacuses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dithioanthracene, 9,10- Thiols Nanomaterials Anthracenes