Chiral Inorganic Nanomaterials: Exploring New Horizons in Catalysis Through Symmetry Breaking

Traditional catalytic strategies are based on composition engineering, active site modification and structural tuning to optimize performance. More recently, chirality has emerged as a novel design paradigm, enabling modulation of catalytic activity, selectivity, and enantioselective outcomes. In particular, chiral inorganic nanomaterials, which integrate intrinsic catalytic functions with unique asymmetric nanostructures, have demonstrated impressive chirality-dependent performance in various catalytic processes, including water splitting, CO₂ reduction, and enantioselective organic transformations. Despite these developments, the rational design of chiral nanomaterials and mechanistic understanding of their chirality-governed catalytic behaviors remain limited. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications of chiral inorganic nanomaterials. It covers both bottom-up and top-down synthetic strategies and highlights advanced techniques for probing their chiral structures and properties. Representative material systems are classified based on their composition, including metals, semiconductors, and hybrid materials. Key chirality-related effects relevant to catalysis, such as chiroptical responses, structural asymmetry, and spin regulation, are discussed, along with their implications on typical photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and enantioselective transformations. Finally, major challenges and prospective directions are outlined to guide further research and practical applications in this evolving field.