Tailoring Enantiospecific Properties of Chiral Metal Nanoclusters on Chiral Metal Oxides

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"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." Professors Aravind R. Asthagiri and Jason Weaver of the University of Florida are supported by the ASC Program in the Division of Chemistry to develop a new approach to grow chiral metal nanostructures on chiral metal oxide surfaces that can be tailored for optimal enantioselectivity. The central hypothesis is that metals can be deposited on chiral metal oxide surfaces to obtain chiral metal nanostructures with enhanced enantioselectivity over comparable chiral metal surfaces. The research plan will integrate ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) experiments, using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and other surface analytical methods, with DFT calculations to study variations in the metal nanostructure morphology, reactivity, and enantiospecificity as a function of metal oxide substrate type and orientation. Changes in reactivity and enantioselectivity will be probed with small molecules using temperature programmed desorption. The proposed work, if successful, will be the first demonstration of the growth of high surface area chiral metal nanostructures. Such materials would be more viable than existing chiral metal surfaces for enantiopurification of chiral drugs and other chiral applications, since they would offer enhanced performance with more efficient use of the metal. Graduate students will be trained in theoretical and experimental surface techniques, and undergraduate and high school students will be exposed to advanced research methodologies through the University of Florida's REU Program.