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A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
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Enhanced Magnetoresistance in Chiral Molecular Junctions
Volodymyr V Maslyuk1, Rafael Gutierrez1, Arezoo Dianat1
1Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials , Dresden University of Technology , 01062 Dresden , Germany.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|September 7, 2018
Summary
Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) is enhanced by molecular helical geometry. DFT calculations show α-helix peptides exhibit significantly higher spin polarization than β-strands, highlighting CISS
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Molecular Electronics
Background:
- Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) is a phenomenon where chiral molecules can induce spin polarization in charge transport.
- The precise microscopic origin of CISS is still under investigation, with spin-orbit interaction and helical symmetry proposed as key factors.
- First-principles studies are lacking to fully understand the influence of molecular chirality on spin polarization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of molecular helical conformation on spin polarization properties.
- To demonstrate the role of molecular geometry in enhancing spin polarization within the CISS effect.
- To provide first-principles evidence for the connection between molecular structure and CISS.
Main Methods:
- Spin-dependent Density-Functional Theory (DFT) based transport calculations were performed.
- A model molecular system comprising α-helix and β-strand conformations of an oligo-glycine peptide was used.
- A two-terminal setup with nickel and gold electrodes simulated molecular junctions for transport measurements.
Main Results:
- The α-helix conformation exhibited spin polarization 100-1000 times greater than the linear β-strand.
- Calculations of intrinsic magneto-resistance confirmed the significant spin polarization in the helical structure.
- These findings underscore the critical role of molecular helical geometry in amplifying spin polarization.
Conclusions:
- Molecular helical geometry plays a crucial role in enhancing spin polarization, as observed in the CISS effect.
- The study provides strong first-principles evidence for the impact of chirality on spin selectivity in molecular systems.
- This work contributes to a deeper understanding of CISS and its potential applications in spintronics.
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