Stereoselective Interaction between Chiral Carbon Dots and Chiral Ligands for Developing Chiral Sensing Devices

Abstract

Despite considerable challenges and energy costs associated with the perpetual selection of enantiomers and building helix-oriented aggregation in nanostructures, chirality becomes naturally ubiquitous. Spectroscopic investigations aimed at elucidating the selectivity in chiral carbon dots (C–Dots) have revealed the presence of a stereoselective interaction between chiral C–Dots and chiral ligands (d/l-cysteine). This interaction occurs via different modes of binding in homochiral and heterochiral systems, impacting the charge transfer processes within the composite systems. AC- and DC-bias-driven electrical studies showed how the different chiral ligands control the device activity. The electrical study and transient photocurrent measurements specified that light-induced transient photocurrent is higher in stereoselective homochiral composite systems. These findings on the underlying mechanism of spin selectivity in the C–Dot chiral ligand composite systems are promising to provide a path toward the development of better chiral-sensing electronic devices.