Chiral Surfaces: Accomplishments and Challenges

Chiral surfaces serve as media for enantioselective chemical processes. Their chirality is dictated by atomic- and molecular-level structure, and their enantioselectivity is determined by their enantiospecific interactions with chiral adsorbates. This Perspective describes three types of chiral metal surfaces: those modified by adsorption of chiral molecules, those templated by chiral lattices of adsorbed species, and those that are naturally chiral. A new paper in this issue of ACS Nano offers insight into the intermolecular interactions that govern chiral templating of surfaces. This Perspective then outlines three major challenges to the field of chiral surface science: development of methods for detection of enantiospecific interactions and enantioselective surface chemistry, preparation of high-area chiral metal surfaces, and the development of a fundamental, predictive-level understanding of the origin of enantioselectivity on chiral surfaces.