Surface chirality induced by rotational electrodeposition in magnetic fields

Abstract

The surfaces of minerals could serve important catalytic roles in the prebiotic syntheses of organic molecules, such as amino acids. Thus, the surface chirality is responsible for the asymmetric syntheses of biomolecules. Here, we show induction of the surface chirality of copper metal film by electrodeposition via electrochemical cell rotation in magnetic fields. Such copper film electrodes exhibit chiral behaviour in the electrochemical reaction of alanine enantiomers, and the rotating direction allows control of the chiral sign. These findings are discussed in connection with the asymmetric influence of the system rotation on the magnetohydrodynamic micro-vortices around the electrode surfaces.