Rational design of circularly polarized luminescence active chiral metal–organic frameworks for logic devices

Abstract

Chiral metal–organic frameworks (CMOFs) have garnered significant attention for their remarkable potential in circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) applications. This study employs circularly polarized fluorescence energy transfer (CPF-ET) as a pivotal strategy for engineering CPL-active CMOFs. Three pairs of structurally analogous CMOFs (L/D-1, L/D-2, and L/D-3) were synthesized by coupling homochiral imidazolium dicarboxylates (L/D-H₂IDPA) with terephthalic acid (TPA) derivatives. These CMOFs displayed distinctive fluorescence and persistent afterglow phosphorescence. As anticipated, these compounds demonstrated outstanding CPL performances, with |g_lum| values reaching up to 0.55 in their single-crystal form. Mechanistic studies revealed a strong correlation between the asymmetry factor and CPF-ET efficiency. These extraordinary CPL properties were leveraged for groundbreaking applications, such as chiral logic devices for sophisticated information encryption. This work lays a robust theoretical and practical foundation for advancing CPL-active materials and seamlessly integrating them into state-of-the-art optoelectronic technologies.