Evidence of induced chirality in stirred solutions of supramolecular nanofibers

Two-modulator generalized ellipsometry is used to determine the spectroscopic Mueller matrix of a solution of porphyrin supramolecular aggregates that have fibrous form. During the measurements the solutions were stirred in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. The pseudopolar decompostion is applied to the experimental Mueller matrices to unveil the birefringent and dichroics properties of the sample. The vortex flow in the stirred solution is found to modify the optical response of the aggregates to polarized light, and, in particular, its chiral signature is determined by the stirring direction in a totally reversible process. The data found show that chirality can be induced by stirring in solutions of supramolecular fibers and that a effective transfer of chirality from a macroscopic phenomenon to the supramolecular structures takes place.