The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

We report a rational supramolecular engineering strategy to synthesize Ti3C2Tx MXene exhibiting exceptional broadband circular dichroism across the UV-vis-NIR spectrum. By covalently anchoring phenylalanine via "chiral nanopainting," we translate molecular chirality into micrometer-scale structural chirality, enabling a ~30% differential photothermal conversion between matched and mismatched circularly polarized light. Integrating this chiral MXene into thermoresponsive hydrogels realizes a ternary optomechanical encoding architecture. Unlike conventional binary systems, this platform deterministically maps optical inputs (right-handed circularly polarized light, light-off, left-handed circularly polarized light) onto three discrete mechanical states (+1, 0, −1). This work establishes a general strategy for programmable matter, transducing chirality-encoded optical inputs into rewritable macroscopic shape states beyond simple actuation.