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Cascading chirality from molecule to twisted microstructures with amplified circularly polarized luminescence
Ying Pan1,2, Tao Wang1, Runjia Wang1
1Beijing National Laboratory of Molecular Sciences and CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Nature Communications
|January 16, 2026
Summary
Researchers controlled microscopic chiral twists using hierarchical assembly of styrylpyridinium-derived glutamide amphiphiles (SPG). This chirality transfer amplified chiroptical signals, creating high-performance circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Chirality Studies
Background:
- Controlling chiral assembly across different length scales is a significant challenge in materials science.
- Hierarchical self-assembly offers a pathway to create complex chiral structures with tunable properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate controllable construction of microscopic chiral twists via hierarchical assembly.
- To elucidate the dynamic chirality transfer process across spatial and length scales.
- To establish a supramolecular design strategy for high-performance circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials.
Main Methods:
- Variable-temperature spectroscopy
- In-situ real-time optical microscopic observation
- Synthesis of enantiomeric styrylpyridinium-derived glutamide amphiphiles (L/D-SPG)
Main Results:
- Hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds drive initial SPG oligomer assembly.
- Oligomers elongate into microscopic twists through synergistic non-covalent bonds under stereochemical control.
- Chirality transfer amplified CPL signals, increasing the luminescence dissymmetry factor (|glum|) from 2.8 × 10-3 to 0.11.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated direct spatiotemporal observation of chirality transfer from molecular to micron scales.
- Established a supramolecular design strategy for high-performance CPL materials through hierarchical organization.
- Achieved significant amplification of chiroptical signals via coherent cross-length-scale chirality transfer.
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