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From the periodic table to photochemical molecular devices and machines

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Abstract

It is well known that the position of an element in the periodic table is related to its electronic structure and that elements belonging to the same column exhibit similar properties because they have the same outer-shell electronic configurations. The similarity between two elements, as predicted by the periodic table, extends to the chemical properties of their metal complexes, but fades and may also completely vanish in going from chemistry to photochemistry, a new dimension of chemistry that follows its own rules. For example, [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and [Fe(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) exhibit completely different photochemical behavior, with the first, but not the second one, being a fundamental component of several molecular devices and machines. After a brief recall of the important ideas advanced one century ago by Giacomo Ciamician, the father of photochemistry and the prophet of solar energy utilization, this paper illustrates examples of light-powered molecular devices and machines: wires, switches, extension cables, antennas, and nanomotors.

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Notes

  1. Currently the world’s growing thirst for oil amounts to almost 1,000 barrels a second, which means about 2 liters a day per each person living on Earth.

  2. This paper (Ciamician 1912) has been published in four languages (English, German, French, and Italian). Giacomo Ciamician, one of the most important pioneers of photochemistry, was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bologna, where the Chemistry Department is now named in his honor.

  3. Up to now more than 100,000 scientific articles about Ru(bpy) family have been published.

  4. This pioneering work had international impact and was published in scientific journals and in some national newspapers: (a) Kay ER, Leigh DA (2006) Photochemistry: lighting up nanomachines. Nature 440:286–287; (b) Chemical and Engineering News (2006) 84:36; (c) Light motors and heavy wear (2006). Nature Materials 5:165–165; (d) News from the micro-nano world: nano motor powered by solar energy (2006) Small 2:446–447; (e) Il sole 24 ore, 26 January 2006; (f) La mia auto, 3 March 2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica “G. Ciamician”, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Vincenzo Balzani, Enrico Marchi & Monica Semeraro

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  1. Vincenzo Balzani
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  2. Enrico Marchi
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  3. Monica Semeraro
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Correspondence to Vincenzo Balzani.

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Balzani, V., Marchi, E. & Semeraro, M. From the periodic table to photochemical molecular devices and machines. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 21, 91–109 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-010-0073-5

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