Surface Inclusion of Unidirectional Molecular Motors in Hexagonal Tris(o‑phenylene)cyclotriphosphazene

A new unidirectional light-driven molecular motor suitable for host–guest surface inclusion complexes with tris­(o-phenylene)­cyclotriphosphazene (TPP) was synthesized. The motor molecules formed regular two-dimensional trigonal arrays covering the large facets of disc-shaped TPP nanocrystals. Photochemical and thermal isomerization studies demonstrated that the light-driven rotation of the anchored motors is similar to that observed in solution and is not compromised neither by either the surface confinement or the density of surface coverage (50 vs 100%).