Scientists in America have launched the world's first nanocar, developed with the help of a palladium catalyst.

A group of researchers from Rice University, Houston, announced the creation of the world's first single-molecule car.

The car was created by Professor James M Tour and his team, who constructed an oligo (phenylene ethynylene) chassis and axle which were then mounted onto four fullerene wheels.

Palladium catalysts were used to create the reactions needed to synthesise the axle and chassis together.

However, the team encountered problems when attempting to attach the wheels, as transition metal catalysts could not be used with the fullerene wheels.

Once this problem had been overcome, Professor Kelly (Tour's collaborator) and his team were able to drive the nanocar around a gold surface using the tip of a probe microscope.

"It's the beginning of learning how to manipulate things at the nanolevel in nonbiological systems," Professor Tour explained to Chemical and Engineering News.

This latest breakthrough comes following last month's announcement that scientists had developed the world's first universal nanoscale material testing system (n-MTS), which is used for mechanical testing of nanoscale objects.


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