A magnetic field can be rotated to switch a chemical reaction from producing 'left-handed' to 'right-handed' molecules on a perfectly symmetric surface.
Electronic asymmetry in momentum space, known as Berry curvature, can drive enantioselective catalysis without a chiral surface. Traditionally, chemists had to build complex, hand-shaped molecules to guide a reaction toward a specific version of a chemical. This new method uses the quantum topology of electrons on a structurally simple antiferromagnet to achieve the same result. The selectivity can even be flipped instantly just by changing the direction of the magnetic field. This breakthrough could make the production of high-purity medicines much cheaper and more efficient. It gives us a remote-control switch for the very shape of the molecules we create.
Berry-curvature-driven switchable enantioselective electrocatalysis on an achiral topological antiferromagnet
ChemRxiv · 10.26434/chemrxiv.15002792/v1
Enantioselective catalysis is conventionally governed by structural chirality in real space, yet whether electronic asymmetry in momentum space alone can bias enantioselectivity remains unknown. Here we show that Berry curvature in a centrosymmetric antiferromagnet can directly control enantioselective electrocatalysis. Using the kagome metal Mn3Ge as a model system, we demonstrate that the electrochemical reduction of (R)- and (S)-10-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) exhibits enantioselectivity that f