Chemists change the bonds between atoms in a molecule for the first time
Single molecule images obtained by high resolution atomic force microscopy. The selective and reversible structure of the molecule in the middle can be converted to the structure on the right or on the left, with a voltage pulse applied from the tip of the scanning probe microscope. Credit: Leo Gross/IBM A team of researchers from IBM Research Europe, the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and the University of Regensburg have changed the bonds between atoms in a molecule for the first time. In their paper published in the journal Science , the group explained their method and its possible uses. Igor Alabugin and Chaowei Hu, have published Perspectives in the same issue of the journal outlining the work carried out by the team. Current methods for making complex molecules or molecular devices, as Alagugin and Chaowei note, are generally quite challenging—they liken it to throwing a box of Legos in the washing machine hoping for some usefu...