Innentitelbild: Bending Actuation of Hydrogels through Rotation of Light‐Driven Molecular Motors (Angew. Chem. 13/2023)

Light-driven molecular motors were used as photoactive crosslinks in hydrogels. Their unidirectional rotation under UV light triggers a shift in the equilibrium swelling of the networks because of the creation of new entanglements. In their Research Article (e202300263), Nicolas Giuseppone and co-workers exploit this actuation to perform mechanical work and show that individual motors can lift loads at least 200 times heavier than their own molecular weight, reminiscent of ants in the macroscopic world.