Chiral-Template-Free Color-Tunable Circularly Polarized Long Afterglow from Carbon Dots with Aggregation-Induced Emission and High Dissymmetry Factor.

Chu, Longxue; Guo, Rui; Jiang, Siquan; Tian, Chenyuan; Zhou, Shengju; Yuan, Zaiwu; Sun, Xiaofeng · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Circularly polarized long afterglow (CPLA) materials feature an extended emission lifetime and unique chiroptical properties. However, current systems suffer from limited color tunability and low luminescence dissymmetry factors (<i>g</i><sub>lum</sub>). Using chiral cellulose nanocrystals, dithiosalicylic acid, and calcium chloride as precursors, we synthesized carbon dots (CDs) with aggregation-induced emission and high <i>g</i><sub>lum</sub> values without using any external chiral template. The CDs emit blue in the dispersed state and red in the aggregated state, with the mechanism shifting from carbon-core- to surface-state-dominated emission. When embedded in a poly(vinyl alcohol) film, the CDs exhibited green CPLA. A hierarchical chiral light-harvesting system enables simultaneous chirality and energy transfer, producing multicolor CPL with high <i>g</i><sub>lum</sub>. This work provides a versatile strategy for tunable circularly-polarized-luminescence-active materials for dynamic anticounterfeiting and multidimensional information encryption.