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Engineering Intrinsically Chiral Gold Nanostructures with Tailored Near-Infrared Optical Activity via a Multistep
Anannya Mandal1, Jatish Kumar1
1Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh 517619, India.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|March 5, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanoparticles using cysteine. These helicoidal nanorods exhibit strong near-infrared circular dichroism, enabling applications in catalysis and biosensing.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Inherently chiral nanoparticles are crucial for understanding symmetry breaking and homochirality.
- Synthesizing intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanoparticles with near-infrared circular dichroism (NIR-CD) is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a facile method for synthesizing helicoidal nanorods (HNRs) with strong NIR-CD.
- To establish a structure-property relationship for tunable plasmonic responses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cysteine as a symmetry-breaking agent for nanoparticle synthesis.
- Employed electron microscopy to analyze nanostructure morphology and optical activity.
- Controlled nanoparticle growth and morphology by tuning cysteine concentration and seed volume.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized HNRs with strong, stable CD in the near-infrared region.
- Identified surface protrusions and edge tilting as sources of optical activity.
- Demonstrated precise control over nanostructure morphology and tunable plasmonic properties.
Conclusions:
- Established a facile synthesis route for intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanoparticles.
- Linked nanostructure morphology directly to optical performance.
- Opened avenues for applications in enantioselective catalysis, chiral biosensing, and spintronics.
