Scientists have designed and built a container that holds just a single water molecule. The container consists of a fullerene cage and a phosphate moiety that acts as the 鈥渃ap鈥� to keep the water inside.

The researchers, Qianyan Zhang, et al., from institutes in Beijing and Germany, have published their study on the tiny fullerene cage in a recent issue of Angewandte Chemie. While previous research has shown that fullerene cages can be used to surround molecules, here the chemists also designed a way to close (and re-open) the cage to let a water molecule in and out.

One of the keys was making the cap the exact size to allow a single water molecule to pass through, and modifying the classic carbon-60 form of fullerene accordingly. Due to its chemical properties, the phosphate moiety used for the cap can be easily removed and re-attached to the edge of an orifice in the fullerene cage, and can sufficiently lock a single water molecule inside.

The tiny container could have applications in transporting small molecules or radioactive atoms for medical purposes and other uses.

漏 2010 麻豆淫院Org.com