Chiral zirconia nanotubes prepared through a sol–gel transcription approach

Abstract

Chiral nanomaterials have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in the fields of asymmetric catalysis, enantioseparation and chirality sensors. Herein, left- and right-handed helical zirconia nanotubes were prepared through a sol–gel transcription approach using the self-assembly of a pair of chiral low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) as templates. The handedness of the zirconia nanotubes is controlled by that of the organic self-assembly. The calcined nanotubes had mixed monoclinic and tetragonal structures. The diffuse reflectance circular dichroism spectra indicated that the zirconia nanotubes exhibited optical chirality. The pyridinium rings of the LMWGs adsorb ZrO₂ nanoparticles through electrostatic interactions, and the amide groups transfer chirality to the inner surfaces of the ZrO₂ nanotubes through a CO⋯Zr⁴⁺ interaction.