Spatial Separation of Enantiomers by Field-Modulated Surface Scattering

Y Chen and L Xu and M Urbakh and O Hod, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, 127, 10997-11004 (2023).

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c00502

A new optomechanical chiral resolution scheme for moleculespossessinga permanent dipole moment is proposed. The approach involves the followingmolecular manipulation sequence: (i) a molecular alignment electromagneticpulse, (ii) a time-delayed dipole orienting static electric field,and (iii) scattering from a frictional surface. The method offersvarious control parameters including pulse duration and intensity,static field strength, delay time, surface dynamic friction coefficient,and incident molecular velocity that can be tuned to optimize spatialenantioseparation. The scheme is demonstrated for the prototypicalHSOH chiral molecule, predicting an enantiomeric excess as high as50%.

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