title: Chiral selection by interfacial shearing of self-assembled achiral molecules.
abstract: We report a novel phenomenon of chiral selection in self-assembled condensates of achiral amphiphiles. The handedness of chiral textures, reproducing the collective rotational component of the molecular orientation inside submillimeter circular domains, is correlated with the sign of a vortical stirring in the aqueous subphase. We propose an explanation based on the distinctive kinetics of topological defect annihilation during domain coalescence at the initial coarsening stage of a phase-separating monolayer.
authors.affiliation: SOC&SAM group, IN2UB and Departament de Química Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Petit-Garrido
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ignés-Mullol
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Claret
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sagués
mesh_terms: D008958:Models, Molecular; D013237:Stereoisomerism