Two distinct non-mirror-symmetric conformations of D- and L-cysteine were found after adsorption on Au(17 11 9)S. This demonstrates chiral heterorecognition, i.e., enantioselectivity of S kinks on vicinal Au(111). The structures as determined by angle scanned x-ray photoelectron diffraction agree well with those from density functional theory calculations. The calculations predict adsorption energies of approximately 2 eV where D-cysteine binds 140 meV stronger than L-cysteine. The classical three point contact model for molecular recognition fails to explain these findings.

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Intramolecular “electron lamp” throws bright shadows: Angle‐scanned X‐ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) allows the absolute configuration of adsorbed molecules to be determined in a straightforward way. Owing to intramolecular scattering, the C 1s XPD pattern of tartaric acid adsorbed on Cu(110) (see picture; Cu brown, C blue, O red) has pronounced forward‐focusing maxima that directly yield the absolute molecular conformation without the need for complex calculations.