Chirality meets topology: building quantum bridges to catalysis

Abstract Topological materials, characterized by their symmetry-protected electronic properties, offer transformative opportunities to integrate solid-state topology and catalysis. When coupled with chirality, novel classes of chiral material systems emerge, including topological chiral materials and magnetic chiral materials, distinguished by their unique chiral-related phenomena. Investigating the role of structural and electronic chirality on chiral catalytic processes holds significant promise for designing advanced chiral catalysts. This review provides a comprehensive overview of intrinsic chiral materials with chiral space groups, accompanied by an in-depth analysis of their electronic chirality, including chiral spin angular momentum, chiral orbital angular momentum, chiral charge density waves, and chiral Weyl points. Moreover, we discuss various tuning knobs that induce chiral responses in topological materials. By offering fundamental insights into the interplay between chiral quantum phenomena and chiral catalytic efficiency, this review bridges chemistry and physics, offering strategies to optimize emerging chiral catalytic systems, such as spin-dependent catalysis and asymmetric synthesis.