Amplification of chirality in two-dimensional molecular lattices

Abstract

Induction of homochirality on surfaces via cooperatively amplified interactions in molecular monolayers is a new phenomenon of supramolecular surface chirality. Prochiral molecules will turn into either handedness upon adsorption, but doping with intrinsically chiral molecules breaks further symmetry and induces homochirality. A similar effect is observed at small enantiomeric excess among chiral molecules. The excess molecules provide the chiral bias that becomes amplified into single lattice chirality.