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Ligand induced chirality in In2S3 nanoparticles
Lorenzo Branzi1, Oriane Lavet2, Yurii K Gun'ko1
1School of Chemistry, CRANN and AMBER Research Centres, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. branzil@tcd.ie.
Nanoscale
|November 13, 2023
Summary
Researchers observed chirality in indium sulfide (In2S3) nanoparticles for the first time using cysteine as a chiral agent. This breakthrough enables new chiral semiconductor nanomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Inorganic Chemistry
Background:
- Chiral inorganic nanostructures are gaining significant interest.
- Developing methods to impart chirality to inorganic materials is crucial for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the first observation of chirality in indium sulfide (In2S3) nanoparticles.
- To investigate the mechanism of chiral transfer from an organic ligand to an inorganic matrix.
- To explore the influence of ligand structure on chiral induction.
Main Methods:
- Co-precipitation reaction using cysteine as a chiral agent.
- Synthesis of spherical indium sulfide nanoparticles (average diameter ~3.6 nm).
- Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis.
Main Results:
- Successful transfer of chirality to the In2S3 inorganic matrix, evidenced by intense CD signals.
- Demonstrated chemisorption of the chiral ligand onto the nanoparticle surface via NMR.
- Identified the critical role of the thiolate group in the chiral ligand for optimizing chiral transfer.
Conclusions:
- Chirality has been successfully induced in indium sulfide nanoparticles.
- Cysteine acts as an effective chiral agent for inorganic nanomaterials.
- This work paves the way for novel chiral semiconductor nanomaterials and their applications.
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