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Stimuli-Responsive Self-Assembly of π-Conjugated Liquids Triggers Circularly Polarized Luminescence.

Ayumi IkenagaYuichi AkiyamaTatsuya IshiyamaMasayuki GonKazuo TanakaYoshiki ChujoKyosuke Isoda
Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces (2021)
We developed novel room-temperature stimuli-responsive N-heteroacene-based liquid materials bearing a chiral alkyl chain. When these liquid materials were exposed to HCl vapor as an external stimulus, a disordered-ordered state change occurred immediately to yield self-assembled solid states from fluidic liquids. The self-assembly mechanism during this state change was evaluated by experimental in situ observations and molecular dynamics simulations over various spatiotemporal scales. These self-assembled structures led to supramolecular chirality through the influence of the chiral alkyl chain. As a result, circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) was triggered in the solid state, which was absent in the precursor liquid, thereby rendering this the first report on a stimuli-responsive CPL on/off liquid material. In addition, the initial state was recovered by exposure to air or upon heating. Moreover, the synergy between the experimental and the theoretical studies opens a new avenue to develop a novel class of stimuli-responsive materials and to discover novel phenomena in such materials.
Keyphrases
  • ionic liquid
  • room temperature
  • molecular dynamics simulations
  • cancer therapy
  • solid state
  • energy transfer
  • quantum dots
  • drug delivery
  • molecular docking
  • photodynamic therapy
  • high resolution
  • visible light