Interplay of Circularly Polarized Light with Molecular and Structural Chirality: Chiral Lanthanide Complexes and Cellulose Nanocrystals

The interaction of circularly polarized (CP) light with chiral matter at different scales opens several possibilities of light manipulation in photonic and electronic devices. Here it is shown that in a multilayer architecture, it is possible to take advantage of the polarization-selective reflection of the nematic arrangement of cellulose nanocrystals and the strong intrinsic CP luminescence (CPL) of the various bands of chiral Eu complexes. In this way, both the intrinsic CPL and total emission of the complex are modified depending on the enantiomer applied and on the detection geometry. This concept may apply for polarization control in electronic and photonic devices and polarized optical cavities.