Probing structural dynamics of photo-switches using microwave spectroscopy and quantum chemistry

Project funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT) (FCT_CPCA_2024_01), grant 2024.07904.CPCA.A3. Funded amount: EUR 13,360.50, as stated by the source. Runs 2024-12-09 to 2025-12-09. Keywords: molecular nanotechnology, rotational spectroscopy, microwave fields, quantum chemistry, molecular structure, Exact sciences. Source: OpenAIRE Graph, from the funder's project data (collected by OpenAIRE on 2025-07-20); national funding data, not CORDIS. Abstract given by the source: With the devising of the first artificial light-driven molecular motors, inspired by molecular architectures of biological origin, great effort has risen to visualize, probe and ultimately influence their structural dynamics, leading to a tailored performance of these artificial molecular systems. Broadband rotational spectroscopy has recently emerged in the portfolio of experimental techniques to tackle complex systems in the molecular nanotechnology domain because of its unique skill-set when paired with quantum chemistry calculations. From an experimental perspective, rotational spectroscopy has a unique ability to solve molecular structures in complex mixtures, without prior separation of its components. From the computational perspective, quantum chemistry methods are employed to determine the pattern of each isomer in the spectrum, where each component can be identified unambiguously, and even quantified in a mixture solely on the basis of its unique three-dimensional structure. This kind of relationship between spectrum and three-dimensional structure is unique to microwave spectroscopy. A rotational strategy is thus highly compatible with theoretical modelling approaches, a prime advantage to efficiently benchmark new computational methods and navigate the complex structure-function relations in molecular science. With the support of state-of-the-art high-performance computing resources, we will explore the capabilities of rotational spectroscopy as a structural-solving tool for increasingly more complex systems in the molecular nanotechnology domain.

Original source.

Source: OpenAIRE Graph: projects of national funders, OpenAIRE, from the project data of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT). Retrieved 2026-10-28. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (OpenAIRE Graph). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

AI-assisted summary: The project "Probing structural dynamics of photo-switches using microwave spectroscopy and quantum chemistry" is funded by FCT with a grant of EUR 13,360.50, running from 2024-12-09 to 2025-12-09, focusing on molecular nanotechnology and rotational spectroscopy. Suggested technology pillar: sensing. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.