Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026
06:44
From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
69.6K
Two-dimensional supramolecular crystal engineering: chirality manipulation.
Jinwen Huan1, Xuemei Zhang, Qingdao Zeng
1Business School of Hohai University, #8 West Focheng Road, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210098, P. R. China.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
|May 23, 2019
Summary
This review explores two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular crystal engineering, focusing on manipulating chirality on surfaces. Advances in on-surface chirality control using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are highlighted.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology
- Surface science and materials engineering
Background:
- Two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular crystal engineering is a key strategy in nanotechnology.
- Chirality manipulation on solid surfaces is an emerging area within this field.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize recent advances in 2D supramolecular crystal engineering via surface chirality manipulation.
- To highlight techniques and principles for controlling chiral nanostructures on surfaces.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) for surface analysis and manipulation.
- Employing component exchange and external stimuli (solvent, temperature, STM tip) for chirality control.
- Investigating host-guest interactions and dynamic processes under equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium conditions.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of on-surface chirality formation, transformation, separation, and elimination.
- Generation of well-defined chiral and achiral 2D nanostructures through controlled supramolecular assembly.
- Insights into the mechanisms of STM-tip driven orientation and reorientation effects.
Conclusions:
- Surface chirality manipulation offers powerful tools for designing 2D supramolecular nanostructures.
- Future research directions and opportunities in this interdisciplinary field are identified.
Related Concept Videos
02:25Chirality
29.2K
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
29.2K
02:30Chirality in Nature
16.9K
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid.
16.9K
02:25Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
14.9K
Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...
14.9K
02:30Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
6.9K
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
6.9K
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
16.9K
Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
16.9K
01:25Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization
4.9K
Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent...
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent...
4.9K