Chiral-Induced Spin-Polarized Molecular Switching in a Magneto-Controlled 2D System using Electrical Readouts

Molecular switches that exhibit bistable electron spins under ambient conditions have attracted growing interest due to their potential applications in quantum technologies, enabling exploitation of the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) phenomenon on electron transfer processes. However, conferring chirality to 2D materials remains a major challenge in Materials Chemistry. Herein, we report the molecular engineering of a chiral spin-filtering 2D material -viz. 2D germanane (2D─GeH)-functionalized by covalent anchoring of chiral cysteine molecules via nucleophilic substitution. By interfacing the resulting chiral 2D material with a ferromagnetic electrode, we demonstrate the dynamic control of spin polarization by manipulating the external magnetic field, leading to two well-defined and electrically distinguishable quantum states. Additionally, the spin polarization direction can be tailored on-demand via enantiomeric configuration of the chiral ligand, promoting spin-dependent electron transport. These findings establish a platform for fine-tuning the spin polarization in chiral 2D materials, offering new opportunities for writing, erasing, and reading unconventional spin-selective molecular switches, and thereby paving the way for advances in quantum information processing and spintronics applications.