SILICA-BASED CHIRAL NANOSTRUCTURES AND PROCESSES FOR PRODUCING SAME

摘要

Silica-based chiral nanostructures each comprising or obtained from a silica/organic-substance composite having chirality are provided, the nanostructures being obtained through a step in which an aqueous solution of a polymer having a linear polyethyleneimine skeleton is mixed with an aqueous solution of an optically active tartaric acid to obtain chiral crystals of an acid-base complex and a step in which a silica source is subjected, in the presence of the chiral crystals obtained in that step, to a sol-gel reaction to coat the chiral crystals with silica to which the chiral structure of the chiral crystals has been transferred. The structures are silica-based chiral nanostructures which are stable even to high-temperature burning. The structures can be converted to organic-silane-modified silica-based chiral nanostructures by bonding an organic silane to the silica.