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  4. Ms. Jeevithra Dewi Subramaniam, a D3 student of the Biomimetic and Technomimetic Molecular Science Laboratory received a Student Presentation Award at the 103rd Annual Meeting (2023) of the Chemical Society of Japan.

Ms. Jeevithra Dewi Subramaniam, a D3 student of the Biomimetic and Technomimetic Molecular Science Laboratory received a Student Presentation Award at the 103rd Annual Meeting (2023) of the Chemical Society of Japan.

ラッペン研本文写真.png 【Photo: Ms. Jeevithra Dewi Subramanian (D3) and Prof. Gwénaël Rapenne】

The 2023 Chemical Society of Japan Annual Meeting covers all academic fields in Chemistry. Over 5,500 presentations provide professionals in Chemistry with opportunities for meaningful discussions and deep insights for future research. This year's, the 103rd Spring Annual Meeting was held for four days from March 22nd to 25th at the Noda Campus of Tokyo University of Science. 69 students were selected out of 222 students' presentations.

Construction of Molecular Gears Based on Lanthanoid Double-decker Complexes with Phthalocyanine and Naphthalocyanine Functionalized with Four Planar Peripheral Substituents

Jeevithra Dewi Subramaniam, Toshio Nishino and Gwénaël Rapenne

Artificial molecular machines are molecules capable to execute mechanical-like movements as an outcome of an appropriate external stimuli. There are now many examples like motors, shuttles, tweezers, nanocars and gears. Various kinds of molecular gears have been proposed, among them, double-decker complexes, in which lanthanoid ion is sandwiched between two porphyrinoid ligands such as porphyrin or phthalocyanine, attractive structural motifs for molecular gears since the ligands can rotate around the metal ion.
In the awarded presentation, she reported the construction of double-decker complexes of Cerium(IV) as new prototypes of molecular gears. Phthalocyanines substituted at the α-position with π-planar bulky substituents were used to synthesize two homoleptic and one heteroleptic double-decker complexes. It is expected that the upper and lower ligands tightly engage and work as gear due to these bulky and rigid substituents. To study molecular gearing on surface with STM, our final target is constituted of a thioether-functionalized porphyrin as anchoring ligand and a carbazole-functionalized naphthalocyanine as cogwheel. Thanks to the helical chirality of this double-decker complex, we hope to build a train of gears with consecutive molecules of opposite chirality.

Receiving this award is an honor and humbling experience. It inspires me to continue to strive for excellence in the field of molecular machine. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my professors for their invaluable guidance and advice throughout my research. Additionally, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the members of Biomimetic and Technomimetic Molecular Science Laboratory.


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