Research Interests
One of his major contributions to the development of mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures has been the establishment of efficient synthesis of these molecules based on the binding of cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene), such as rotaxanes and catenanes. Using dynamic covalent chemistry his group reported the synthesis of the most advanced mechanically-interlocked molecular architecture called molecular Borromean rings. The efficient procedures developed to synthesize these molecular architectures has been applied to the construction of molecular machines that operate based on the movement of the various components with respect to one another. These molecular machines have potential uses as molecular sensors, actuators, amplifiers, and molecular switches and can be controlled chemically, electrically, and optically.
Stoddart has pioneered the use of mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures to create nanomechanical systems. He has demonstrated that such devices can be fabricated using a combination of the bottom-up approach of molecular self-assembly and a top-down approach of lithography and microfabrication.
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