Circularly polarized luminescence with high dissymmetry factors for achiral organic molecules in solutions

Abstract

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in solution offers several advantages. However, it remains challenging for organic molecules to achieve circularly polarized luminescence with high dissymmetry factor (g_lum) in solution. Herein, a general strategy is developed by placing chiral nematic liquid crystals (N*-LCs) behind the solution of achiral organic molecules. The selective reflection-transmission mechanism of solution-N*-LC composite system enables the generation of full-color and white circularly polarized light with |g_lum| even reaching 2.0. This strategy demonstrates versatility, being applicable to both aqueous and organic solutions, and effectively achieving the circularly polarized luminescence of multiple molecules with high g_lum values. Additionally, CPL switching and logic gate applications are successfully realized by leveraging the selective reflection-transmission mechanism of N*-LCs and the reversible acid-base responsiveness of the solution systems. This work provides a general and robust strategy for achiral organic molecules to achieve circularly polarized luminescence with high |g_lum| values in solutions.