Circularly-Polarized Luminescence (CPL) from Chiral AIE Molecules and Macrostructures

Abstract

Circularly-polarized luminescence (CPL) has received new attention on the rise of applications to generate devices and biologically active probes. These applications require fluorophores that are not only chiral but also provide strong fluorescence intensity in aggregated state. Thus, a new research branch has opened up a few years ago, which allows CPL-active fluorophores to be emissive in aggregated-state. As a result, reports on the combination of the CPL property with the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon have emerged. Herein the early design principles that have been reported until now to generate CPL-active AIE-active fluorophores (AIEgens) are summarized. In this regard the alignment of monomeric emitters in a chiral fashion, either in supramolecules, polymers or liquid crystals has been proven to be a successful approach. Additionally, first reports have appeared that demonstrate how to tackle the daunting task to furnish individual CPL-active AIEgens.

Keywords: aggregation-induced emission; chirality; circularly-polarized luminescence; polymers; supramolecular chemistry.