Emergence of Chirality from Isotropic Interactions of Three Length Scales.
Chirality is known to play a pivotal role in determining material properties and functionalities. However, it remains a great challenge to understand and control the emergence of chirality and the related enantioselective process particularly when the building components of the system are achiral. Here we explore the generic mechanisms driving the formation of two-dimensional chiral structures in systems characterized by isotropic interactions and three competing length scales. We demonstrate that starting from isotropic and rotationally invariant interactions, a variety of chiral ordered patterns and superlattices with anisotropic but achiral units can self-assemble. The mechanisms for selecting specific states are related to the length-scale coupling and the selection of resonant density wave vectors. Sample phase diagrams and chiral elastic properties are identified. These findings provide a viable route for predicting chiral phases and selecting the desired handedness.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.|Department of Physics, University of Swaziland, Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni M201, Swaziland.
S K
SK
Mkhonta
Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan 48309, USA.
K R
KR
Elder
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.
Zhi-Feng
ZF
Huang