Condensation and asymmetric amplification of chirality in achiral molecules adsorbed on an achiral surface

Abstract The origin of homochirality in nature is an important but open question. Here, we demonstrate a simple organizational chiral system constructed by achiral carbon monoxide (CO) molecules adsorbed on an achiral Au(111) substrate. Combining scanning tunneling microscope (STM) measurements with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Huiru Liu, Heping Li, Yu He, Peng Cheng, Yi-Qi Zhang, Baojie Feng, Hui Li, Kehui Wu, Lan Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-04-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37904-z
Description
Summary:Abstract The origin of homochirality in nature is an important but open question. Here, we demonstrate a simple organizational chiral system constructed by achiral carbon monoxide (CO) molecules adsorbed on an achiral Au(111) substrate. Combining scanning tunneling microscope (STM) measurements with density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations, two dissymmetric cluster phases consisting of chiral CO heptamers are revealed. By applied high bias voltage, the stable racemic cluster phase can be transformed into a metastable uniform phase consisting of CO monomers. Further, during the recondensation of a cluster phase after lowering down bias voltage, an enantiomeric excess and its chiral amplification occur, resulting in a homochirality. Such asymmetry amplification is found to be both kinetically feasible and thermodynamically favorable. Our observations provide insight into the physicochemical origin of homochirality through surface adsorption and suggest a general phenomenon that can influence enantioselective chemical processes such as chiral separations and heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis.
ISSN:2041-1723