Chiral Inorganic Nanostructures from Achiral Platforms: A Universal Synthesis Route via Supramolecular Self-Assembly

Abstract

The chirality of nanostructured systems has gained growing attention in catalysis, biotechnology, and optoelectronics owing to their exotic enantio-/spin-selective interactions and intriguing chiroptical features. However, large-scale fabrication of chiral inorganic nanostructures still remains a challenge. Herein, we report a simple but generalized route for the synthesis of diverse chiral inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) such as Au, Ag, PdO, and TiO2 NPs using block copolymer (BCP) templates. The self-assembled BCP inverse micelles offered a specific environment, wherein dl-alanine induced left-handedness via hydrogen bonding with the pyridines of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine), for the evolution of chirality. The BCPs were then used as a chiral host to transfer their handedness to the anchored inorganic NPs, resulting in an anisotropy factor of −8.6 × 10-4 for the BCP/Au NP hybrid. Our design concept pinpoints the steps required to construct an extended library of viable chiral nanostructures and will aid in the development of artificial chiral materials. © 2023 American Chemical Society.