Going Beyond the Physical: Instilling Chirality onto the Electronic Structure of a Metal

Look below the surface: An adsorbed chiral molecule, 1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine, reversibly instills chirality onto the electronic structure of a copper surface (see picture), a previously unobserved phenomenon. Conveying chirality onto the electronic structure of a metal surface is a possible mechanism by which chemical reactivity and electrical properties may be made chirally dependent.