Spin selection in atomic-level chiral metal oxide for photocatalysis

The spin degree of freedom is an important and intrinsic parameter in boosting carrier dynamics and surface reaction kinetics of photocatalysis. Here we show that chiral structure in ZnO can induce spin selectivity effect to promote photocatalytic performance. The ZnO crystals synthesized using chiral methionine molecules as symmetry-breaking agents show hierarchical chirality. Magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopic and magnetic conductive-probe atomic force microscopic measurements demonstrate that chiral structure acts as spin filters and induces spin polarization in photoinduced carriers. The polarized carriers not only possess the prolonged carrier lifetime, but also increase the triplet species instead of singlet byproducts during reaction. Accordingly, the left- and right-hand chiral ZnO exhibit 2.0- and 1.9-times higher activity in photocatalytic O₂ production and 2.5- and 2.0-times higher activities in contaminant photodegradation, respectively, compared with achiral ZnO. This work provides a feasible strategy to manipulate the spin properties in metal oxides for electron spin-related redox catalysis.