CAREER: Molecular Control of Interfacial Chirality and Spin Dynamics

With support from the Chemical Structure and Dynamics (CSD) program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Sarah B. King of the University of Chicago is investigating how molecular chirality influences spin-selective charge and energy transport at material interfaces. Chirality, an important property of many molecules, has wide-ranging implications—from how pharmaceuticals bind to proteins to understanding the origins of life’s molecular asymmetry.

Despite its significance, the mechanisms by which chiral molecules interact with interfaces, and how these interfaces influence the dynamics and spin-selectivity of charge transfer, remain poorly understood. Professor King and her students will design and study chiral molecular systems linked to materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides and magnetic surfaces.

Advanced time-resolved spectroscopy will be used to examine how the composition and structure of these interfaces control the interplay between chirality, spin, and magnetism. The discoveries from this research will advance understanding of chiral spin-interface dynamics, offering new principles for designing materials that manipulate spin-selective processes for quantum information technologies.

Broader impacts include public engagement through science communication initiatives, such as a program expanding science outreach for young adults on Chicago's South Side, and training young scientists in effective public communication of quantum science concepts.

By combining flexible molecular interfacial synthesis with cutting-edge spectroscopy, this project seeks to uncover fundamental principles governing the interactions between chirality, spin, and magnetism at molecular-material interfaces. It focuses on three main questions: how chiral molecules selectively influence spin-dependent processes at 2D material interfaces, how chirality can be induced in achiral systems through molecular interactions, and how solvated "chiral" electrons are generated and interact with magnetic substrates.

The research hypothesizes that the molecular interface plays a critical role in these processes, with its structural and electronic properties determining the magnitude and direction of spin-selective interactions. These studies aim to illuminate the mechanisms behind chirality-induced spin selectivity and the role of magnetic interfaces in the origins of biological homochirality.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.