Photostriction-Driven Phase Transition in Layered Chiral NbOX2 Crystals: Electrical-Field-Controlled Enantiomer Selectivity

Photostriction-Driven Phase Transition in Layered Chiral NbOX2 Crystals: Electrical-Field-Controlled Enantiomer Selectivity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Photostriction-Driven Phase Transition in Layered Chiral NbOX 2 Crystals: Electrical-Field-Controlled Enantiomer Selectivity Jorge Cardenas-Gamboa, Martin Gutierrez-Amigo, Aritz Leonardo, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8543892/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The physical properties of chiral crystals are inherently tied to their structural handedness, making external control of chirality a key challenge for functional materials design. However, the ability to select between structural enantiomers remains challenging, both theoretically and experimentally. In this work, we demonstrate a two-step pathway for enantiomer selectivity in layered chiral NbOX2 (X = Cl, Br, I) crystals based on photostriction-driven phase transitions. Ab-initio simulations reveal that optical excitation is capable of inducing a structural phase transition in NbOX2 from the monoclinic (C2) ground state to the higher-symmetry (C2/m) structure. In the resulting transient high-symmetry state, an applied electric field breaks the residual inversion-symmetry degeneracy, selectively stabilizing one enantiomeric final state configuration over the other. Our results establish a combined optical-electrical control scheme for chiral materials, enabling reversible and non-contact enantiomer selection with potential applications in ultrafast switching, optoelectronics, and chiral information storage. Physical sciences/Chemistry Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SuppNbOX2JCG.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 08 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 05 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 24 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 26 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 07 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8543892","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":581321918,"identity":"6259a81d-43ed-4e90-8400-4e15fa92c794","order_by":0,"name":"Jorge Cardenas-Gamboa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxmYgkVAhwQ+kDICYmQHKIKDlwRkJyQaitYC1PWxjIEELczvz4xeJ8ywkDA4wb/vw4Y+1nDkD88YH+B3GZmaRuE0CqIWteObMtnRjywa2YrzWMDbzsBkAtdSZ3X9jzMzbcDhxwwEeMwnCWuZISJgd4DFm/vPncD1Qi/kPAlqYHyQ2QLUwsB1OMADagk8H2C8MCcckJOyBfmHsbUs33HCYrRivwwz7Dz/++KOmDhgxzJsZfvyxljc43rzxA14tDQxsaGYy43UWA4M8UAleM0fBKBgFo2AUMAAAeutFwsAD7qkAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jorge","middleName":"","lastName":"Cardenas-Gamboa","suffix":""},{"id":581321920,"identity":"821521a4-3788-44af-959e-2d24d3764dd7","order_by":1,"name":"Martin Gutierrez-Amigo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Aalto University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martin","middleName":"","lastName":"Gutierrez-Amigo","suffix":""},{"id":581321922,"identity":"73336a29-9d40-4752-9fd0-eda295dbce00","order_by":2,"name":"Aritz Leonardo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of the Basque Country","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aritz","middleName":"","lastName":"Leonardo","suffix":""},{"id":581321923,"identity":"9cb1e1a6-c815-40d7-afe8-4aba7b683c82","order_by":3,"name":"Gregory A. 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