The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Circularly polarized light (CPL) offers an additional optical degree of freedom that is valuable for advanced sensing, imaging, and information technologies, yet practical CPL-active thin films often rely on synthetically demanding chiral semiconductors. Here we report a general strategy to create chiral polymer thin films by blending a custom-designed gold nanocluster (AuNC) with widely used commodity polymers, including the p-type semiconductor F8T2, the n-type semiconductor N2200, and the donor–acceptor polymer PCPDTTBTT. The AuNC is synthesized to act as a chiral dopant and interfacial organizer, enabling the emergence of pronounced chiroptical signatures in solution-processable hybrid films. By systematically varying the AuNC loading and processing conditions, we identify regimes where chiral transfer to the polymer matrix is maximized while preserving film continuity and optoelectronic functionality. The resulting AuNC/polymer thin films exhibit measurable CPL-dependent optical responses and, importantly, enable CPL generation from the same material platform, demonstrating a dual-functionality of CPL discrimination and emission within a unified processing scheme. This work establishes designer AuNCs as versatile chirality inducers for scalable chiral optoelectronics based on broadly adopted polymer semiconductors, providing a materials-agnostic route to CPL-responsive and CPL-emissive thin-film devices.