Induced Chirality Meets Chiral Amino Acid for Enhanced Sensing: A Concept of Chiroelectronics

Abstract Chiral nanomaterials exhibit unique optical properties and are used for electronics and sensing applications. Chiral molecules can induce chirality in achiral semiconducting nanomaterials, which can be exploited for the discrimination of chirality. There are different approaches by which achiral metal oxides can be converted into chiral ones; however, a chemical approach to creating a chiral heterostructure is considered more promising for sensing applications. In this work, chiral inducers is utilized such as L‐ and D‐penicillamine (Pen) for preparing chiral L‐Pen‐MoO 3 ₋ x and D‐Pen‐MoO 3 ₋ x . The induced‐chiral oxide materials display reasonably good anisotropic factors ( g ‐factor, 3 × 10 − 3 ), ensuring chirality is transferred into achiral MoO 3 . Spectroscopic characterization, morphological, and elemental analyses ensure the formation of L‐Pen‐MoO 3 ₋ x or D‐Pen‐MoO 3 ₋ x . Induced‐chiral nanomaterials are exploited in two‐terminal electronic devices, exhibiting asymmetric electrical (current‐voltage) response. The chiral heterostructures are further employed for enantioselective sensing of L‐tryptophan and D‐tryptophan probed via differential pulse voltammetry. Quantum mechanical calculations reveal that chiral‐modified electrodes exhibit binding energy values 1–1.3 eV for similar enantiomers, and the values drop to ≈0.5–0.7 eV for dissimilar isomers. This chemical surface‐modification strategy not only introduces chirality transferred in achiral objects but also broadens the functional scope of the heterostructures, enabling enantioselective sensing and chiral electronic applications.