title: Chiral habit selection on nanostructured epitaxial quartz films.
abstract: Understanding the crystallization of enantiomorphically pure systems can be relevant to diverse fields such as the study of the origins of life or the purification of racemates. Here we report on polycrystalline epitaxial thin films of quartz on Si substrates displaying two distinct types of chiral habits that never coexist in the same film. We combine Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis and computer-assisted crystallographic calculations to make a detailed study of these habits of quartz. By estimating the surface energies of the observed crystallites we argue that the films are enantiomorphically pure and we briefly outline a possible mechanism to explain the habit and chiral selection in this system.
authors: Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL) CNRS-Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France. adrien.carretero-genevrier@ec-lyon.fr.
authors: Adrián
authors: A
authors: Carretero-Genevrier
authors: Martí
authors: M
authors: Gich
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Picas
authors: Clément
authors: C
authors: Sanchez
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Rodriguez-Carvajal
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011791:Quartz / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011791:Quartz; D012825:Silicon