Chiral Crystallization in Superchiral Field Co-created by Electric and Magnetic Fields of Light

Abstract

  External fields such as electric and magnetic fields are nowadays known to impact crystal growth process and the resulting polymorphs. However, the impact of chiral external fields such as circularly polarized light (CPL) on chiral crystallization has been overlooked because of the intrinsically weak chiral light-matter interaction between CPL and chiral matters. Here, the author demonstrates that large crystal enantiomeric excess which cannot be attained by the irradiation of CPL in chiral crystallization can be induced by superchiral near-field co-created by electric and magnetic fields of near-fields of localized surface plasmon resonance and Mie resonance of metal and dielectric nanostructures, respectively. This demonstration opens a new avenue for the control of chiral crystallization by chiral external fields.