Enantiomers of Single Chirality Nanotube as Chiral Recognition Interface for Enhanced Electrochemical Chiral Analysis

Although separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) according to their helicity and handedness has been attracting tremendous interest recently, exploration of the left- and right-handed SWCNT enantiomers (defined as “M” and “P”) to chiral sensing still remains in the early stage. Here we presented a new electrochemical sensor for chiral discrimination, which for the first time amplified the chiral selection on the electrode surface based on the left- or right-handed semiconducting SWCNT enantiomers with (6,5)-enriched chirality. The enantioselectivity was demonstrated by different peak current response to analyte enantiomers, observed in differential pulse voltammogram (DPV). Chiral distinguishing might be a result of the formation of an efficient chiral nanospace originating from the high purity of single enantiomer of (6,5) SWCNT. The obtained chiral electrodes were also applied to determine the enantiomeric excess (ee) of DOPA. There was a good linear relationship between DPV peak currents and % ee of l-DOPA. This study is the first example showing how the structure of chiral SWCNTs influences electrochemical chiral recognition.