Chirality-Induced One-Way Magnetoresistance in Gold Nanocrystals

Abstract

Abstract Magnetoresistance (MR), a cornerstone for quantum materials and quantum devices, is usually symmetric (sometimes antisymmetric) under magnetic field reversal. Here, we report a chirality-induced one-way magnetoresistance (ChiMR) in gold nanocrystals, where MR is strongly amplified, up to several tens of fold, under a small magnetic field (30 mT), but vanished under the opposite field, yielding a diode-like magnetic response at room temperature. The preferred direction of ChiMR is dictated by the nanocrystal handedness, which reverses for opposite enantiomers. We show that chirality and a magnetic field jointly reshape the nanocrystal surface potential, giving rise to ChiMR. This effect demonstrates that chirality can break the conventional symmetry of magnetotransport, introducing a new degree of freedom for controlling the magnetic response. Our findings establish ChiMR as a distinct magnetotransport phenomenon, identify chiral nanocrystals as a platform for directional quantum electronic functionalities, and open new opportunities for magnetic field-mediated control in chiral systems across electronics, catalysis, and biological processes.