Block Copolymer Enabled Synthesis and Assembly of Chiral Metal Oxide Nanoparticle

Chiral metal oxide nanostructures have received tremendous attention in nanotechnological applications owing to their intriguing chiroptical and magnetic properties. Current synthetic methods mostly rely on the use of amino acids or peptides as chiral inducers. Here, we report a general approach to fabricate chiral metal oxide nanostructures with tunable magneto-chiral effects, using block copolymer (BCP) inverse micelle and R/S -mandelic acid (MA). Diverse chiral metal oxide nanostructures are prepared by the selective incorporation of precursors within micellar cores followed by the oxidation process, exhibiting intense chiroptical properties with a g-factor up to 7.0 × 10 –3 in the visible–NIR range for the Cr 2 O 3 nanoparticle multilayer. The BCP inverse micelle is found to inhibit the racemization of MA, allowing MA to act as a chiral dopant that imparts chirality to nanostructures…