Scientists ‘Close in’ on Molecular Switch

A team of U.S. and Japanese researchers has formed a single chemical bond on a single molecule — moving closer to creating a molecular switch.

Some scientists foresee a future in which all electrical switches and circuits will be as tiny as single molecules.

Turning that dream into reality might now be a step closer, thanks to the collaboration between chemists at the University of Illinois-Chicago and Japan’s Riken Research Institute. The international team successfully formed a single chemical bond on a single molecule, and then broke that bond to restore the original molecule — without disturbing any bonds to adjacent atoms within the molecule.

The researchers said that achievement, in essence, created a molecular-sized electronic switch.

The key thing we were after was reversibility, said Michael Trenary, UI professor of chemistry and one of the lead researchers. Others have done work at the single-molecule level, but nobody has been able to get the control we have.

The study was reported in the June 29 issue of the journal Science.