Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Chiral Tetranuclear Copper(I) Iodide Clusters

Circularly polarized luminescent (CPL) materials are promising in applications such as 3D displays and quantum communication. Hybrid organic–inorganic copper(I) iodides have been rapidly developed due to their intense photoluminescence and structural diversity; nevertheless, the reported Cu–I clusters rarely show CPL activities. In this study, we introduced chiral organic molecules R / S -methylbenzylammonium ( R / S -MBA) into Cu–I inorganic skeletons to achieve chiral tetranuclear ( R / S -MBA) 4 Cu 4 I 4 clusters with intense orange luminescence and CPL activity at room temperature. These enantiomeric ( R / S -MBA) 4 Cu 4 I 4 clusters show oppositely signed circular dichroism (CD) signals, which agree well with their simulated electronic CD spectra. The crystallization-induced helical arrangement of ( R / S -MBA) 4 Cu 4 I 4 clusters and their largely distorted polynuclear configuration demonstrate a new platform for the study of chiral-related properties.