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Friday, 12th May 2006 (6331 views)

A piece of gold has been used to view the image of the world's largest man-made fractal molecule on a nanoscale.

Scientists in the US sprayed the molecules onto the piece of gold, which were then kept at a low temperature allowing them to be viewed through a scanning tunnelling microscope.

George Newkome, leader of the research team from the University of Akron, told Science the breakthrough was hugely significant for the future.

"This man-made structure is one of the first nanoscale, non-branched fractal molecules ever produced," he explained.

To synthesise the molecule, which is bound together by bonds with ions of ruthenium and iron – forming a hexagonal gasket, the researchers used a molecular self-assembly technique.

The scientists hope that the technology can now be used to develop new sources of energy, such as molecular batteries, photoelectric cells and new means of energy storage.

 

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