From Homochiral Clusters to Racemate Crystals: Viable Nuclei in 2D Chiral Crystallization

The quest for enantiopure compounds raises the question of which factors favor conglomerate crystallization over racemate crystallization. Studying nucleation and crystal growth at surfaces with submolecular-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy is a suitable approach to better understand intermolecular chiral recognition. Racemic heptahelicene on the Ag(100) surface shows a transition from homochiral nuclei to larger racemic motifs, although the extended homochiral phase exhibits higher density. The homochiral-heterochiral transition is explained by the higher stability of growing nuclei due to a better match of the molecular lattice to the substrate surface. Our observations are direct visual proof of viable nuclei.