The expression of chirality in linked poly(thiophene)s.

Conjugated polymers have demonstrated to express chirality, for instance, by strong circular dichroism (CD). However, the shape and intensity of the spectra can be quite different and are very difficult to predict. Molecular irregularity, star-shapes, and linking polymers have demonstrated to affect the CD, often in a positive way. In this research, we design two different chiral arms, in which the molecular irregularity results in a significantly different CD. Next, the arms are coupled to a linear core in all possible combinations. In this way, we demonstrate that rather small irregularities and linking arms to a central core increases CD, whereas heterogenous combinations result in smaller CD.