The famous, one-sided Mobius strip can be constructed by cutting open a regular paper band, giving it a half-twist and then rejoining the ends. The same change in topology can now be performed at a molecular level — but without having to break open the loop. Reporting in Angewandte Chemie, Latos-Grazynski and colleagues have prepared a molecule that switches from a regular to a Mobius band, simply by changing the polarity of the solvent. This isn't just a party trick — the change in shape transforms the electronic properties of the molecule.
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