Enabling robust blue circularly polarized organic afterglow through self-confining isolated chiral chromophore

Creating circularly polarized organic afterglow systems with elevated triplet energy levels, suppressed non-radiative transitions, and effective chirality—three critical prerequisites for achieving blue circularly polarized afterglow—has posed a formidable challenge. This work unveils a straightforward approach to attain blue circularly polarized afterglow materials by covalently self-confining isolated chiral chromophores within a polymer matrix. Robust hydrogen bonds within the polymer matrix create an isolated and stabilized molecular state, resulting in blue emission (414 nm), a 3.0 s lifetime, and a luminescent dissymmetry factor of −10⁻². Synergistic afterglow and chirality energy transfer, achieved by doping colorful fluorescent molecules into the blue polymers, enables full-color circularly polarized afterglow systems with versatile applications. This streamlined design expands the horizons of circularly polarized afterglow materials.

Mingjian Zeng, Weiguang Wang, Shuman Zhang, Zhisheng Gao, Yingmeng Yan, Yitong Liu, Yulong Qi, Xin Yan, Wei Zhao, Xin Zhang, Ningning Guo, Huanhuan Li, Hui Li, Gaozhan Xie, Ye Tao, Runfeng Chen, Wei Huang