The assembly line: self-assembling nanocars

Certain molecular structures that have controlled rolling properties on surfaces have been termed as nanocars. The syntheses of nanocars are generally multi-stepped. We report here the synthesis of two nanocars by a process resembling an assembly line where front and rear portions are attached using hydrogen bonding and metal complexation. Nanocars 1a and 2a,b were designed using 2-pyridone moieties for hydrogen bonding and terpyridyl ligands for metal complexation, respectively.