Excerpt from: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2016/press.html
2016's Nobel Laureates in Chemistry (jointly awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines") have developed molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added. They have miniaturised machines and taken chemistry to a new dimension … Molecular machines will most likely be used in the development of things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage.
The Loeb Research Group congratulates the laureates on this prestigious recognition of their achievements. LRG is also pleased to be contributing to this exciting and developing area of chemistry.
In particular, our work – “A Molecular Shuttle that Operates Inside a Metal-Organic Framework” Nature Chem. 2015, 7, 514 – was cited by Nature.com in their collection of highlights of some of the most important contributions to this field.
See: http://www.nature.com/collections/mzxlcbfyzn/
Steve explains the concept of interlocked molecules (a [2]catenane) using bagels at a special breakfast celebrating the Nobel news.