Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Dr. Giulio RAGAZZON “The common origin of nonequilibrium motion and assembly”

September 20, 2019 @ 9:15 am

Dr. Giulio RAGAZZON

Université de Trieste

The common origin of nonequilibrium motion and assemblyGiulio RagazzonDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste (Italy)gragazzon@units.itThe behaviour of matter at the nanoscale differs substantially from the one observedmacroscopically. This is mostly due to the relevance of thermal fluctuations, that govern thebehaviour of molecules. As a result, in artificial nanosystems it is particularly challenging to inducedirectional motion, as well as to assemble structures that would not form spontaneously. Thesethemes attracted the attention of scientist and remarkable achievements have been accomplished, inparticular with the development of molecular motors and nonequilibrium self-assembling systems.[1] The fundamental aspects at the basis of directed motion and driven assembly are typicallyconsidered separately, despite the associated processes being both energy-demanding.This talk will present kinetic asymmetry as a common underlying principle.[2] Experimentalefforts in this area will serve as a basis for the discussion. In particular, light- and chemically-drivensystems will be presented, including molecular pumps and catalytic vesicles.[3] Cooperativecatalysis will emerge as a potential candidate to trigger chemically-driven nonequilibrium self-assembly.

Figure. Minimal reaction scheme for the formation of a high-energy vesicle, driven by the consumption of achemical fuel. The catalytic conversion of fuel into a low energy waste product has the potential to afford ahigh-energy state. However, the talk will illustrate why energy consumption is not a sufficient requirement todrive the formation of the assembly.

References:

[1] (a) S. Kassem, T. van Leeuwen, A. S. Lubbe, M. R. Wilson, B. L. Feringa, D. A. Leigh, Chem. Soc. Rev.2017, 46, 2592-2621; (b) J. H. van Esch, R. Klajn, S. Otto, Chem. Soc. Rev.2017, 46, 5474-5475.

[2] G. Ragazzon, L. J. Prins, Nat. Nanotechnol.2018, 13, 882-889.

[3] (a) G. Ragazzon, M. Baroncini, S. Silvi, M. Venturi, A. Credi, Nat. Nanotechnol.2015, 10, 70-75; (b) P.Solís Muñana‡, G. Ragazzon‡, J. Dupont, C. Z.-J. Ren, J. L.-Y. Chen, L. J. Prins, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2018, 57, 16469-16474.

Details

Date:
September 20, 2019
Time:
9:15 am
Event Category:

Venue

Salle de réunion

Organizer

Thomas Hermans