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

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 |<i>g</i> _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.