Research in our group seeks to extend covalent and non-covalent assembly strategies into the nano-domain, so that building blocks from different size regimes may be combined at will. Arranging nanoparticle and molecule components with the same precision that can be achieved for functional group components in molecular synthesis will allow the assembly of discrete 'supermolecule' constructs, colloidal molecules and ordered nano-patterned materials, all with potentially unique characteristics. This can only be achieved by developing a deep understanding of the forces that drive both covalent and non-covalent assembly at different size-scales and learning how the kinetics and thermodynamics of these processes can be manipulated to affect the final structure.

Another research direction involves the design, construction and understanding of increasingly complex synthetic molecular machines. While great strides have been made in the stimuli-responsive control of molecular conformation, the abilities of the molecular machines found in nature still far-outstrip the creations of chemists in terms of complexity of both form and function. Here again, novel synthetic techniques are required in order to create molecular/nano architectures that can restrict the random thermal motion characteristic of these size-scales while at the same time powering the intended 'useful' motion. Furthermore we must be able to understand how non-covalent interactions influence molecular dynamics and how we can manipulate these forces to generate a desired mechanical outcome.

In addressing these challenges, we make use of a wide variety of synthetic and analytical techniques, including organic synthesis, nanoparticle synthesis, 1D and 2D NMR, UV-Vis and TEM.

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS

1. Synthetic molecular motors and mechanical machines (review): E. R. Kay, D. A. Leigh, F. Zerbetto, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 72-191
2. A reversible synthetic rotary molecular motor: J. V. Hernández, E. R. Kay, D. A. Leigh, Science 2004, 306, 1532-1537
3. Beyond switches: ratcheting a particle energetically uphill with a compartmentalized molecular machine: M. N. Chatterjee, E. R. Kay, D. A. Leigh, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 4058-4073
4. A molecular information ratchet: V. Serreli, C.-F. Lee, E. R. Kay, D. A. Leigh, Nature 2007, 445, 523-527
5. 5. Operation mechanism of a molecular machine revealed using time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy: M. R. Panman, P. Bodis, D. J. Shaw, B. H. Bakker, A. C. Newton, E. R. Kay, A. M. Brouwer, W. J. Buma, D. A. Leigh, S. Woutersen, Science 2010, 328, 1255-1258