Gel transformation fabrication of carbon nanodots incorporated chiral MOF film for circularly polarized afterglow

Chiral metal-organic frameworks (MOF) composite materials hold great potential for circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) applications, but achieving circularly polarized afterglow remains significant challenging. Herein we present a gel transformation fabrication method to synthesize carbon nanodots (CND) incorporated chiral MOF composite films with circularly polarized afterglow. A chiral amino acid based MOF gel was prepared, combined with pre-synthesized afterglow CND and coated onto an activated quartz substrate. Annealing and drying yielded the CND incorporated chiral MOF composite film (denoted as chirMOF-CND film). Due to the strong chiral transfer and synergistic interaction with gapless connection between the components of chiral MOF film and the afterglow luminophores of CND, the chiral composite film achieves high-performance circularly polarized afterglow. Additionally, the afterglow duration can be modulated by varying the CND concentration. This gel transformation strategy utilizes the unique attributes of chiral MOF and the persistent luminescence of CND for fabricating chiral composite monoliths with seamless integration, advancing next-generation optical devices and sensors applications.