Enantiospecific spin polarization of electrons photoemitted through layers of homochiral organic molecules.

Niño, Miguel Ángel; Kowalik, Iwona Agnieszka; Luque, Francisco Jesús; Arvanitis, Dimitri; Miranda, Rodolfo; de Miguel, Juan José · Adv Mater · 2014

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Electrons photoemitted through layers of purely organic chiral molecules become strongly spin-polarized even at room temperature and for double-monolayer thicknesses. The substitution of one enantiomer for its mirror image does not revert the sign of the spin polarization, rather its direction in space. These findings might lead to the obtention of highly efficient spin filters for spintronic applications.