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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
Intensive chiroptical properties of chiral polyfluorenes associated with fibril formation
Girish Lakhwani1, Jeroen Gielen, Martijn Kemerink
1Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Thin films of chiral poly{9,9-bis[(3S)-3,7-dimethyloctyl]-2,7-fluorene} (1) were studied using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Films spin coated from chloroform solution, show CD with a degree of polarization g(abs) (= +4 x 10(-4) at 400 nm) that is independent of film thickness (50-290 nm). This implies that g(abs) is an intensive property of the material and related to the chiral organization of the molecules on a length scale less than 50 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) on the films reveals fibrils. Addition of nonsolvent methanol to a solution of 1 in chloroform leads to fibril formation in solution and results in CD similar in band shape to that of the pristine spin coated films from chloroform solution and a g(abs) comparable in magnitude. Thus the chiral molecular arrangement leading to circular dichroism is part of the internal structure of these fibrils.
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