Enantioselective chemistry on intrinsically chiral surfaces
is
the quintessential form of structure-sensitive surface chemistry,
arising purely from the dissymmetry of the surface structure. Identification
or design of chiral surface structures that maximize enantioselectivity
for a given processes is extremely challenging because of the limited
magnitude of the enantiospecific interaction energetics of chiral
molecules with chiral surfaces. Using spherical Cu single crystals
exposing surfaces with a continuous two-dimensional distribution of
crystallographic orientations, we mapped the enantiospecific surface
reaction kinetics of tartaric acid decomposition across the surface
orientation space. These measurements reveal both the mechanistic
origin of enantioselectivity and identify the structural features
of the most enantiospecific surface orientation.
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