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Tunable circularly polarized luminescence of hybrid supramolecular nanofibers based on a cinnamic acid gelator and spiropyran by photoisomerization

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Abstract

Circularly polarized luminescence materials have attracted plenty of interest by virtue of their fascinating characteristics as well as prospective applications in information encryption, optoelectronic devices, and so on. However, the spatiotemporal modulation of circularly polarized luminescence materials by using light irradiation is still challenging. Herein, we have constructed a kind of hybrid supramolecular nanofibers with tunable circularly polarized luminescence based on photoresponsive chiral cinnamic acid gelator and achiral spiropyran through photoisomerization. The chiral cinnamic acid gelator could self-assemble into nanofiber structures by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interaction and π-π stacking, displaying intense right-handed circularly polarized luminescence at 400 nm. However, UV irradiation causes the trans–cis isomerization of the cinnamic acid moiety, resulting in the transformation of nanofibers into rod-like structures and the loss of circularly polarized luminescence signal. In view of this problem, we discovered that the photoisomerized spiropyran can help with the photostability of the nanofibers as well as tuning of their CPL emission, as spiropyran molecule could be transformed into its merocyanine state by ring-opening reaction under 254 nm UV irradiation following with the formation of chiral merocyanine aggregates on the surfaces of the nanofibers. The as-obtained hybrid nanofibers emit both right-handed circularly polarized luminescence at 400 nm and left-handed circularly polarized luminescence at 700 nm with a high luminescence dissymmetry factor. The present study provides a new hybrid strategy to control the photostability as well as regulate the circularly polarized luminescence performance of soft materials.

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The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information files.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.22202113), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (Nos.ZR2021QB006, Nos.2022HWYQ-083, Nos.ZR2023ME019), the Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong Province (Nos.tsqnz20221136), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos.2021M701809, Nos.2023T160347), the State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles (Qingdao University) (Nos.GZRC202012), and the Qingdao Applied Research Project.

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  1. Qiuya Yang and Xueli Liu contributed equally to the work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Biobased Fibers and Ecological Textiles, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Qiuya Yang, Xueli Liu, Zhichao Xu, **nnuo Wu, Min Lin, Zhaocun Shen & Kunyan Sui

  2. School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Gemeng Liang

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  1. Qiuya Yang
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Qiuya Yang, Xueli Liu, and Zhaocun Shen designed the experiments. Qiuya Yang, Zhichao Xu, and **nnuo Wu conducted experiments and drafted the manuscript. Min Lin, Zhaocun Shen, and Kunyan Sui supervised the project. Qiuya Yang, Xueli Liu, Zhichao Xu, **nnuo Wu, Gemeng Liang, Min Lin, Zhaocun Shen, and Kunyan Sui discussed the experiments and results. All authors have given approval for the final version of the manuscript.

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Yang, Q., Liu, X., Xu, Z. et al. Tunable circularly polarized luminescence of hybrid supramolecular nanofibers based on a cinnamic acid gelator and spiropyran by photoisomerization. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 7, 121 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-024-00931-5

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