Science Daily June 6, 2022
The function of many biomolecules is directly linked to their chirality. Chiral molecules assemble into chiral structures (like nucleic acids forming DNA), and achiral molecules assemble into achiral structures. Researchers at the University of Illinois have observed structural chirality emerging in achiral conjugated polymers. They combined achiral conjugated polymers with a solvent then added the solution, drop by drop, to a microscope slide. As the solvent molecules evaporated, leaving the polymers behind, the solution became more and more concentrated. Soon, the compressed achiral polymers began self-assembling to form structures. They can be used to design flexible solar cells. The material is composed of organic materials, the flexible cells are transparent and lightweight enough to cling to a window. They can be manufactured rapidly using solution printing that is used for printing newspapers and at low cost using very little energy. Diverse applications might include consumer products like batteries and smart watches, quantum computing, and bio-based sensors that can detect signs of disease in the body…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Schematic illustration of proposed chiral emergence in multistep hierarchical assembly of achiral conjugated polymers.
Credit: Nature Communications volume 13, Article number: 2738 (2022)Â