Molecular roller and rocker on surfaces

Abstract

We present theoretical studies of a 'molecular roller' and a 'molecular rocker.' syn-tricyclooctadiene molecule chemisorbed on Al(100) can undergo a 'Cope like' rearrangement and behave like a molecular roller. The barrier height for the rolling motion is found to be 13.64 kcal/mol. We also present our results for a molecular rocker—semibullvalene molecule chemisorbed on Al(100) surface. We find that it can behave like a rocker with a barrier height of 21.57 kcal/mol for the rocking motion