Enantioselective Growth of Chiral Serine‐Induced β ‐Ag 2 Se Crystals from an Organoselenium Compound

Abstract Chirality in inorganic materials has garnered increasing attention owing to its potential applications in enantioselective catalysis, chiral sensing, and optoelectronics. A novel enantioselective solution‐phase crystallization of orthorhombic β ‐phase of silver selenide ( β ‐Ag 2 Se, space group P 2 1 2 1 2 1 ) from an organoselenium precursor decorated with a chiral amino acid serving as a chiral inductor is reported herein. A controlled crystallization using cyclohexene‐1,2,3‐selenadiazole as selenium source in the presence of AgNO 3 and a suitable chiral additive enabled the formation of β ‐Ag 2 Se nanocrystals (NCs) with chiral character. Use of D/L‐Serine in the crystallization mixture resulted in distinct morphological differences; L‐Serine‐induced β ‐Ag 2 Se formed NCs with larger, terraced platelets, while D‐Serine‐induced β ‐Ag 2 Se exhibited smaller, lobate NCs. Spectroscopic and X‐ray diffraction studies revealed the formation of chiral β ‐Ag 2 Se crystals. Enantioselective adsorption studies revealed preferential interactions between L‐Ser‐induced β ‐Ag 2 Se with L‐Cys/L‐Ala, and vice versa, as confirmed by circular dichroism (CD), high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), indicating homochiral adsorption preference of chiral molecules onto chiral crystals of β ‐Ag 2 Se. These findings provide insight into the role of amino acid‐facilitated chiral induction in inorganic crystallization, offering new pathways for designing enantioselective synthesis of chalcogenide materials.