Understanding the evolution of tunable spiral threads in homochiral Au nano-screws

Abstract

We report the homochiral Au nano-screws via the chiral induction by L-cysteine. The focus is on the emergence of tunable spiral threads, which depend on the feedback mechanism between the chiral ligand patches and the ridge-valley growth competition. We postulate that the merging of ridges around the nanorod surface into three-dimensional (3D) chiral threads is analogous to that of the 2D sand dune stacks, in terms of the dynamic evolution of the ridge patterns.