Files
Document type
ArticleVersion
Published versionPublication date
Publication license
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/217047
Chiral symmetry breaking induced by energy dissipation
Journal Title
Director/Tutor
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Related resource
Abstract
Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking is observed in a wide variety of systems on very different scales, from the subatomic to the cosmological. Despite its generality and importance for a large number of applications, its origin is still a matter of debate. It has been shown that the existence of a difference between the energies of the intermediate states of optical enantiomers leads to disparate production rates and thus to symmetry breaking. However, it is still unclear why this occurs. We measured for the first time the optical rotation angle of NaClO3 enantiomeric crystals in solution during their formation and found that the amount of energy needed to induce the enantiomeric excess is exactly the same as the energy dissipated per mole of solid salt calculated from the entropy production obtained from the proposed model. The irreversible nature of the process leading to entropy production thus explains the chiral symmetry breaking in the salt crystals studied. The proposed method could be used to explain the formation of self-organised structures generated by self-assembly of enantiomers arising from chiral symmetry breaking, such as those emerging in the production of advanced materials and synthetic biological tissues.
Subject
Subject (English)
Citation
Citation
ARANGO-RESTREPO, Andrés, et al. Chiral symmetry breaking induced by energy dissipation. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 2023. Vol. 25, num. 9238-9248. ISSN 1463-9076. [consulted: 7 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/217047