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Chirality

Chirality

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...

Chirality in Nature

Chirality in Nature

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.

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

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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.
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Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

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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...

Prochirality

Prochirality

The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...

Radical Halogenation: Stereochemistry

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Stereochemistry is the study of the different spatial arrangements of atoms in a given molecule. The stereochemistry of radical halogenations can be understood from three different situations:
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Related Experiment Video

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Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

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Chiral Quantum Materials: When Chemistry Meets Physics.

Xia Wang¹, Changjiang Yi¹, Claudia Felser¹

¹Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, 01187, Dresden, Germany.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|December 21, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Topological homochiral crystals (THCs) link solid-state physics with chiral catalysis. This review explores THC growth, their catalytic applications, and the connection between electronic properties and catalysis, highlighting future research directions.

Keywords:

asymmetric catalysis chirality‐dependent quantum properties chirality‐induced spin selectivity heterogeneous catalysis topological homochiral crystals

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Area of Science:

Condensed Matter Physics
Materials Science
Catalysis

Background:

Chirality is a fundamental property in nature, crucial for biochemistry and catalysis.
Understanding chirality transfer is key to advancing chiral catalysis.
Chiral quantum materials offer new ways to connect solid-state topology with chiral catalysis through properties like spin-orbital coupling (SOC).

Purpose of the Study:

To review the growth of topological homochiral crystals (THCs).
To summarize the applications of THCs in heterogeneous catalysis.
To discuss the link between chirality-dependent electronic properties and catalytic mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Review of literature on the growth of topological homochiral crystals.
Summary of applications in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen electrocatalysis, and asymmetric catalysis.
Discussion of the relationship between electronic properties (SOC, SAM/OAM) and catalytic performance.

Main Results:

Topological homochiral crystals (THCs) are synthesized and show promise in various catalytic reactions.
Chirality-dependent electronic properties of THCs are linked to their catalytic activity.
THCs provide a platform for exploring novel catalytic mechanisms.

Conclusions:

THCs represent a significant advancement in linking solid-state physics with chiral catalysis.
Further research is needed to overcome existing challenges and fully exploit the potential of THCs.
THCs are expected to impact broader chemical and physical research.