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Updated: Aug 28, 2025

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Published on: February 5, 2022
Chiral-Solvent-Mediated Manganese-Based Hierarchical Supraparticles with Chiroptical Activity
Hongyu Zhang1, Changlong Hao1, Liguang Xu1
1International Joint Research Laboratory for Biointerface and Biodetection, State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214122, P. R. China.
Researchers synthesized chiral supraparticles (SPs) with enhanced optical properties using polar solvents. Adding chiral solvents further boosted their anisotropy and circular dichroism, offering a new method for chiral material design.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Chirality Studies
Background:
- Supraparticles (SPs) are complex structures assembled from smaller nanoparticles.
- Chiral materials exhibit unique optical properties, such as circular dichroism (CD).
- Controlling the chirality and optical activity of supraparticles is crucial for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize manganese-based multiply hierarchical chiral supraparticles.
- To investigate the effect of chiral solvents on the supraparticles' chiroptical properties.
- To elucidate the mechanism behind chirality enhancement in supraparticles.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of chiral supraparticles using polar-solvent-mediated strategies.
- Characterization of supraparticle structure and anisotropy.
- Measurement of circular dichroism (CD) intensity and analysis of chiroptical activity.
Main Results:
- Manganese-based chiral supraparticles were successfully synthesized with a g-factor of 0.102 and CD intensity of 260 mdeg.
- Addition of an external chiral solvent enhanced the g-factor to 0.121 and CD intensity to 320 mdeg.
- The enhanced chirality is attributed to a smaller inter-nanoplatelet tilt angle induced by chiral solvents.
Conclusions:
- Polar solvent strategies effectively create hierarchical chiral supraparticles.
- Chiral solvents can significantly enhance the anisotropic and chiroptical properties of supraparticles.
- This work provides a practical approach for designing complex chiral superstructures with tunable optical activity.
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