Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 11, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Spin-Chiral Lattice-Photon Coupling in Organic Chiral Cocrystals with Temperature-Induced Chirality Inversion
Zhiyan Chen1, Tianhao Liu1, Zhixin Sun1
1College of Physics, University-Industry Joint Center for Ocean Observation and Broadband Communication, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Applied Physics Education, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
Abstract:
Chirality plays an essential role in emergent quantum phenomena owing to its interplay with spin and photon degrees of freedom. In this work, a pair of chiral enantiomeric cocrystals were fabricated, where right-handed and left-handed cocrystals present significantly different spin polarization. The distinct chiral lattice structure predominantly accounts for the observed variations in magnetization; only the right-handed cocrystal undergoes a chiral inversion upon cooling. Due to the temperature-triggered chiral lattice structural phase transition, spin polarization of the right-handed cocrystal increases nonlinearly and rapidly with decreasing temperature. Moreover, the spin degeneracy lifting induced by the chiral lattice is also affected by chiral inversion, leading to a mirror response in the magnetic field control of circularly polarized transmittance. In addition, the phase transition temperature of the chiral lattice can be effectively tuned by circularly polarized light. Overall, this study provides deeper insight into the dynamic chiral lattice dependent spin and optics in homochiral cocrystals.
Related Concept Videos
NMR Spectroscopy: Spin–Spin Coupling
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Chirality in Nature
Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
Spin–Spin Coupling: Three-Bond Coupling (Vicinal Coupling)
The extent of coupling depends on the C‑C bond length, the two H‑C‑C angles, any electron-withdrawing substituents, and the dihedral angle between the involved orbitals. The...
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

