Chiral expressions at metal surfaces

The manifestation of chirality at surfaces has attracted much attention in recent years. In this review, some of main features of chiral endowments by complex organic molecules at defined metal surfaces are reviewed. Detailed surface spectroscopic data have enabled a hierarchy of chiral expressions to be delineated, from point group chirality expressed by local chiral motifs, to space group chirality in which these motifs act as building blocks which self-assemble into organised chiral structures, to deeper propagation of chirality into the metal leading to chiral reconstructions. Chiral endowments by both chiral and achiral molecules is discussed alongside the implications for progressing chirality from the local to the global level. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.