Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Nanostructure

Supramolecular chirality

Chiral symmetry breaking

Stereochemistry

Particle physics

Optics

Conjugated system

Chirality (physics)

Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model

Chemistry

Materials science

Moiety

Helicity

Molecule

Quantum mechanics

Supramolecular chemistry

Polymer

Photochemistry

Quark

Fluorescence

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Photosensitive cinnamic acid conjugated glutamides were designed to demonstrate photocontrolled hierarchical chirality transfer and switching in self-assembled systems. In methanol, the cinnamic acid derivatives self-assembled into superhelices, which could be switched into nanokebabs upon UV irradiation. These two nanostructures showed opposite helicity. The chiral nanostructures could further convey their chirality to achiral fluorescent molecules and result in the emission of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Remarkably, the CPL followed the helicity of the chiral nanostructure rather than the inherent molecular chirality. Photodriven dimerization of the cinnamic moiety lead to a significant change in molecular packing and subsequent switching of the helicity of the formed nanostructures.

Helical Nanostructures: Chirality Transfer and a Photodriven Transformation from Superhelix to Nanokebab