Chemistry

Spinterface-like mechanism of the chirality-induced spin selectivity in donor chiral-bridge acceptor complexes

Subhajit Sarkar, Oliver L. A. Monti, Yonatan Dubi

Featured July 8, 2026

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Simply

When electrons flow through a twisted molecule, they create a tiny internal magnetic field that makes one spin direction easier to pass, acting like a tiny spin filter inside the molecule itself, explaining chirality-induced spin selectivity.

In depth

The paper introduces an intramolecular spinterface-like mechanism to explain chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) in donor-chiral bridge-acceptor (D–

χ

B–A) complexes. It proposes that a photoexcited electron traversing the chiral bridge exchanges with a residual donor electron, creating a localized magnetic moment. The resulting through-bridge charge current generates an effective solenoidal field at the donor-bridge interface, which, combined with donor thermalization and bridge spin mixing, breaks spin degeneracy and enables spin-selective transport without requiring intrinsic spin-orbit coupling on the bridge or an external magnetic field.

Key Takeaways

1
The study proposes an intramolecular spinterface mechanism where the donor electron acts as a localized magnetic moment, analogous to an electrode surface, enabling CISS in isolated D– $χ$ B–A complexes.
2
A current-induced solenoidal field at the donor-bridge interface, generated by charge flow through the chiral bridge, is identified as the primary source of spin degeneracy breaking.
3
The model quantitatively reproduces experimentally observed spin polarization (tens-of-percent) in time-resolved EPR studies by considering the interplay of the current-induced field, thermodynamically consistent spin mixing, and donor thermalization.

Conceptual Flow

HIGH LEVEL

Methodology: Internal Spin Filtering

The paper shows how a twisted molecule can act like a tiny magnet, pushing electrons with one spin direction through more easily than others.

Electron Donor

Twisted Bridge

Electron Acceptor

Electron Moves

Current Creates Field

Field Filters Spins

Spin-Polarized Flow

Results: Robust Spin Polarization

They found that this internal magnetic effect can create a strong spin preference, matching what scientists see in real experiments.

Current Strength

Temperature

Spin Mixing

Adjust Conditions

High Spin Preference

Matches Experiments