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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
Interfacial solvothermal synthesis of superhydrophilic ionic salt-derived chiral helical COFs with strong chiroptical
Xinlin Zha1, Zhenzhen Jiang1, Mengjuan Zuo1
1Key Laboratory of Textile Fiber and Products, Ministry of Education, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China.
Abstract:
Traditional chiral induction strategies for nonionic covalent organic frameworks (COFs) often produce disordered aggregates with low dissymmetry factors and weak chiroptical activity due to uncontrolled crystallization kinetics. Here, we report an interfacial solvothermal strategy that spatially separates superhydrophilic ionic amines in an aqueous phase from aldehyde monomers in an organic phase, enabling precise kinetic regulation and efficient molecular-to-mesoscale chiral amplification. This method yields highly ordered helical ionic COFs, including anionic, cationic, and zwitterionic frameworks, with outstanding chiroptical properties, featuring ellipticities exceeding 3600 millidegrees (mdeg) and |gabs| values up to 0.07. By tuning the acid concentration and chiral inducer stoichiometry, the dimensions of superhelical anionic COFs can be controlled from the nanoscale to the micrometer scale. Furthermore, oppositely charged aggregation-induced emission luminogens are incorporated into the COF channels through electrostatic interactions, generating blue, yellow, and green circularly polarized luminescence. This work establishes a versatile platform for constructing chiral COFs with amplified chiroptical responses for chiral optoelectronics, sensing, and asymmetric catalysis.
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