SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3973-9
Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is a phenomenon where chiral molecules emit light with distinct left or right circular polarizations upon excitation. Unlike conventional luminescent materials, chiral materials produce light with inherent helicity, leading to unique applications in chiral optoelectronics, quantum technologies, and biophotonics. This review systematically explores the theoretical and computational foundations of CPL, focusing on the interplay between molecular chirality, transition dipole moments, and photoluminescence quantum yield. A major challenge in designing efficient CPL-active materials is optimizing the luminescence dissymmetry factor (g_lum) while maintaining high photoluminescence efficiency. This review comprehensively summarizes how first-principles computational methods, by establishing robust predictive frameworks, have significantly advanced the design of CPL molecules. Even though significant progress has been made in modeling monomeric systems, the effective integration of first-principles calculations to describe CPL in aggregated states remains an ongoing challenge. The review also highlights the promising synergy between computational models, experimental validation, and emerging data-driven techniques such as machine learning (ML) for guiding the design of novel high-performance CPL materials. In conclusion, further research is needed to overcome current computational limitations and develop more effective strategies for CPL material design.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4190-y
Chirality, a fundamental property of matter, underpins diverse phenomena across chemistry, biology, materials science, and physics. This editorial introduces a special topic on chiral materials, comprising 31 high-quality papers (12 reviews, 1 perspective, 18 original research contributions) that collectively advance the field from molecular to supramolecular chirality, chiral self-assembly, and chirality transfer across multiple length scales. The collection highlights recent progress in theoretical understanding, artificial intelligence-driven design, and applications in optoelectronics, catalysis, sensing, and biomedicine. Key contributions include first-principles calculations elucidating circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) origins, AI-accelerated discovery of chiral functional materials, and reviews on CPL-active non-perovskite halides, chiral inorganic catalysts, polyoxometalate-based materials, and chiral carbon dots. Organic, polymeric, and supramolecular systems are also featured, including stimuli-responsive azobenzene-based helices, aromatic foldamers, and folding-mediated chirality control. Original research spans helical wrapping, enantiomer purity regulation, optically active helical polymers, 2D assemblies, metal-organic frameworks, chiral hybrid halides, perovskites, Eu(III) enantiomers, co-assembled copolymers, polymer dots, ferroelectric liquid crystals, nanozymes, and homochiral MOFs. These works collectively address fundamental questions and demonstrate potential for advanced functional materials with programmable properties, pointing to promising innovation pathways for future technological development.