Thermo-responsive circularly polarized luminescence from carbon quantum dots in a cellulose-based chiral nematic template.

Circularly polarized light emitting active materials are of great interest, and the convenient tuning of the circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) remains a significant challenge. Integrating fluorescent materials into chiral photonic crystals to achieve tunable CPL is a promising approach, allowing efficient manipulation of CPL by adjusting the photonic band gap (PBG). We combined carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), which self-assembles into a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC). The helical structure can selectively reflect right circularly polarized (RCP) light, achieving strong circular dichroism (CD) and high CPL dissymmetry factor . In addition, the chiral template is thermo-responsive. The CPL wavelength can be adjusted by regulating the PBG position through temperature adjustment, while the chirality of CPL keeps high especially in the heating process. This work enables stimuli-responsive manipulation of CPL under one template through temperature regulation, which may open up enormous possibilities for the cellulose-based material in different areas.