Engineering chiroptical activity in organic photodetectors: molecular design to device integration

Chiroptical organic optoelectronics utilizing circularly polarized light has received special attention for next-generation optoelectronics. Among various chiroptical materials, π-conjugated molecules offer distinct advantages due to easy tunability of optoelectronic properties and efficient chiral light-matter interactions. In this presentation, we will discuss facile strategies developed by our research group for integrating chiroptical activity into organic optoelectronic devices. This covers how chiral optoelectronic properties can be introduced and optimized through hybrids of chiral small molecules and π-conjugated polymers, the integration of supramolecular nanoarchitectures, and the utilization of organic chiral photonic structure. From a viewpoint of molecular design, the fundamental issue regarding how to induce chiroptical transitions in planar π-conjugated polymers to achieve both excellent charge transport will be discussed. The feasibility of these approaches was validated through photodetection performance, showcasing remarkable optoelectronic responses correlated to the polarization of chiral light across a wide wavelength range, including UV, visible, and NIR.