A research team has made a breakthrough in surface science by introducing a new active mechanism of adsorption. Such adsorption-based phenomena, in which molecules are attracted onto a solid surface, are essential for today's catalysts, energy storage and environmental remediation. The research demonstrates how artificial molecular machines grafted on surfaces can be used to recruit molecules actively onto these surfaces at very high concentrations, thereby storing significant amounts of energy.

Source: Chemists develop a fundamentally new mode of adsorption