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The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Line Shape Analysis of Dynamic NMR Spectra for Characterizing Coordination Sphere Rearrangements at a Chiral Rhenium Polyhydride Complex

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Switching the chirality of single adsorbate complexes.

Manfred Parschau¹, Daniele Passerone, Karl-Heinz Rieder

¹Nanoscale Materials Science, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Ueberlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)

|February 12, 2009

Summary

Propene molecules on copper surfaces become chiral. Tunneling electrons induce molecular motion and can even convert molecules to their opposite enantiomer, a significant finding in surface chemistry.

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Published on: February 15, 2016

Area of Science:

Surface science
Physical chemistry
Chirality studies

Background:

Propene molecules can adsorb onto metal surfaces.
Chiral complexes are important in various chemical applications.
Electron-induced surface reactions are a key area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the formation of chiral complexes of propene on a copper surface.
To understand the role of tunneling electrons in adsorbate dynamics.
To explore enantiomeric conversion induced by electron currents.

Main Methods:

Adsorption of propene molecules on a copper (Cu) surface.
Utilizing a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with inelastically scattered electrons.
Controlling tunneling currents to influence adsorbate behavior.

Main Results:

Propene molecules form chiral complexes when adsorbed on copper.
Inelastic electron tunneling induces rotation and diffusion of adsorbed propene.
Increased tunneling currents lead to the conversion between enantiomers.

Conclusions:

Electron-induced dynamics can control the chirality of adsorbed molecules.
STM is a powerful tool for manipulating molecular chirality at surfaces.
This work opens avenues for enantioselective surface chemistry.