Molecular rotors have been engineered within the bicyclopentane–dicarboxylate struts of a metal–organic framework—the bicyclic unit is the rotator and the carboxylate groups serve as the stator. In a zinc-based metal–organic framework, the crossed conformation of the strut–metal nodes enables fast rotation of the bicyclic moiety, but in the corresponding zirconium metal–organic framework a change in the conformation results in much slower rotation.
- Jacopo Perego
- Silvia Bracco
- Piero Sozzani
