Applications of carbon nanomaterials in chiral separation

Chiral separation is always a research emphasis since it is widely needed in pharmacy, chemical, agriculture and food industries. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) with large specific surface area, good biocompatibility, highly delocalized conjugate system of π-electron and abundant oxygen-containing groups can have a positive impact on the chiral separation performance. CNMs-based chiral materials have presented excellent enantioseparation performance, which reveals their great prospect in chiral separation. In this review, principles of chiral separation using CNMs and application progress of CNMs in various chiral separation technologies including HPLC, CEC, CLC, GC, TLC, membrane separation and enantioselective adsorption was systematically summarized, so as to enable scientists to better understand the significance of CNMs in chirality.