Circularly Polarized Luminescence Induced by Chiral Super Nanospaces

A simple methodology is developed to realize chiroptical function induced through superstructural chirality of a matrix of helical nanofilaments formed by achiral molecules. In this work, circularly polarized luminescence is demonstrated in nanosegregated mesophase comprising only achiral molecules. An achiral molecular mixture of a bent-core host and a rod-like guest blended with a fluorescent dye is prepared. Circularly polarized luminescence confirms that the chiral superstructure consisting only of achiral molecules may serve as a chiral super nanospace for inducing chiral emissions from the fluorescent dye that exhibits rod-like molecular ordering. In other words, the formation of a chiral superstructure by the segregated rod-like molecules embedded in helical nanofilaments (bent-core molecules) is confirmed. The results provide a novel strategy for constructing dissymmetric circularly polarized luminescence materials based on achiral molecules, which is potentially applicable in future information and display technologies.