分子の”集団的ふるまい”が結晶を動かす――分子の整列と結晶の変形が手を取りあう新しい状態 「協奏的超構造」を発見――

2026-08-06 東京大学

分子動力学に駆動された協奏的超構造の発現

＜関連情報＞

• https://www.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/news/5118/
• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeg4785

分子インターカレーション超格子における秩序・無秩序ダイナミクスを介した協同的な超構造の出現 Emergent cooperative superstructures via order-disorder kinetics in molecular intercalation superlattices

Taiga Ueda, Hideki Matsuoka, Shungo Aoyagi, Shunsuke Kitou, […] , and Naoya Kanazawa
Science Advances  Published:5 Aug 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeg4785

Abstract

Molecular intercalation superlattices, formed by inserting organic molecules into van der Waals crystals, create inorganic-organic hybrid interfaces that have enabled a variety of emergent phenomena. Traditionally, the intercalated molecules have been regarded as inactive spacers, while their collective ordering have remained largely unexplored. Here, we report the discovery of a cooperative superstructure phase in molecule-intercalated niobium diselenide (NbSe₂), where ordering of the guest molecules induce a superstructure in the NbSe₂ host lattice, characterized by a moiré structure due to incommensurability between molecular and inorganic lattices. Thermal-quench measurements show that the transition is governed by slow order-disorder kinetics, contrasting with fast charge or magnetic ordering in inorganic solids. Our findings establish molecular ordering as a route for engineering heterointerfaces, enabling thermally programmable superstructures.