Collaborative Research: The Structure and Chemistry of Naturally Chiral Metal Surfaces

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This collaborative research project combines experimental studies carried out in the laboratory of Charles Sykes at Tufts University, experimental work from the laboratory of Andrew Gellman at Carnegie Mellon, and theoretical studies by David Scholl and coworkers, also at Carnegie Mellon. With the support of the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, this collaborative team is investigating the structure and reactivity of naturally chiral metal surfaces. Copper single crystals cut to expose chiral kink sites are the substrates being examined, and the adsorption and reaction of chiral and achiral small molecules on these surfaces are studied. A combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), vibrational STM, photoemission of adsorbed Xe, thermal desorption spectroscopy, and density functional calculations are the tools used to examine these reactions. A fundamental understanding of structure and reactivity of chiral surfaces helps to develop enantioselective catalytic and separation processes, of considerable value in the pharmaceutical industry. A collaboration between surface science experimentalists and theoreticians at Tufts University and Carnegie Mellon University addresses the question of chiral reactivity of miscut copper surfaces. By cutting the surfaces to expose chiral kink sites, the detailed effects of structure on adsorption and reaction of chiral molecules can be examined. A suite of experimental and theoretical probes are brought to bear on this question, with the goal of providing fundamental understanding for the design of enantioselective reaction and separation processes.