N-Heterocyclic Carbene as a Surface Platform for Assembly of Homochiral Metal-Organic Framework Thin Films in Chiral Sensing.

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have attracted increasing attention on surface assembly due to their strong metal binding property, but an NHC-modified metal surface as a new growth platform to assemble other functional materials is still a challenge. Here, we report the preparation and chiral sensing properties of homochiral metal-organic framework thin films on carboxyl-containing NHC self-assembled monolayer-modified gold (Au(NHC)) substrates. By using a liquid-phase epitaxial layer-by-layer method, enantiopure [Cu(cam)dabco] thin films with preferred [110] crystal orientation have been successfully grown on Au(NHC) surfaces. The results of electrochemical cyclic voltammetry and quartz crystal microbalance uptakes of ()- and ()-1-phenylethanol show that the chiral porous thin film on the robust Au(NHC) surface has good enantiomeric electrochemical recognition and enantioselective adsorption. The present work is a new step to develop metal-NHCs as surface platforms for the preparation of multifunctional thin films for sensing applications.