Facile fabrication of helical hybrid silica ribbons with high-efficiency circularly polarized luminescence

Abstract

• A bis(triethoxysilane) with aggregation-induced emission properties was synthesized. • Self-assemblies of a natural triterpenoid-based amphiphile were used as templates. • Hybrid silica ribbons were fabricated by supramolecular templating polymerization. • Hybrid silicas exhibited circularly polarized luminescence with efficient emission. We present a facile strategy for the construction of single-handed helical organic–inorganic hybrid silica micro/nanomaterials with circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties and high fluorescence efficiency. Two right-handed helical hybrid silica ribbons were fabricated through a supramolecular templating polymerization of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and organosiloxanes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, using the self-assemblies of a natural triterpenoid-based amphiphile as the templates. It was found that the chirality has been transferred from the supramolecular templates to the hybrid silica ribbons. The resultant hybrid silicas exhibited high thermal stabilities and intense CPL with the luminescence dissymmetry factor up to –8.8 × 10 -3 and the absolute fluorescence quantum yield up to 55.2%.