Understanding Enantioselective Interactions by Pulling Apart Molecular Rotor Complexes.

Area of Science:

• Surface science
• Chirality studies
• Molecular interactions

Background:

• Enantioselective interactions are crucial in biology and catalysis.
• Understanding molecular-level chirality is key for designing enantiospecific interfaces.
• Surfaces offer a platform for studying enantioselectivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate enantioselective interactions between intrinsically chiral and surface-induced chiral molecules.
• To demonstrate the ability to direct the surface chirality of achiral molecules using chiral modifiers.
• To provide molecular-level insights into chiral amplification phenomena.

Main Methods:

• Utilized scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to visualize individual molecule chirality.
• Employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to rationalize observed molecular behavior.
• Performed STM tip-induced molecular manipulations to assemble and analyze molecular complexes.

Main Results:

• Observed direct visualization of chirality for both intrinsically chiral (propylene oxide) and surface-chiral (propene) molecules.
• Found a strong preference for 1:1 heteromolecular pair formation between propylene oxide and propene.
• Demonstrated that chiral propylene oxide preferentially binds one enantiomer of propene with a 3:2 ratio.

Conclusions:

• Surface chirality of achiral molecules can be effectively directed by chiral modifiers.
• This work validates ensemble studies on chiral amplification through surface-induced chirality.
• Provides a model system for understanding and designing enantioselective surface interactions.