Researchers have developed an interfacial phase-separated polymerization strategy that enables rapid manufacturing of 3D chiral luminous materials, according to a paper published in Nature Communications. The method addresses long-standing challenges in additive manufacturing, where preserving chiral molecular alignment and maintaining interlayer structural integrity during fast curing processes had previously prevented the realization of high-performance chiral materials.
The stereo-architectures are produced using layer-by-layer curing completed within 20 seconds. These materials emit 360-degree omnidirectional chiral light with an asymmetry factor of 0.6. The manufacturing process achieves a precision limit of 10 microns, which corresponds to the physical limit of the 3D printer used in the research.
During testing, the researchers observed a chiral emission inversion effect within the system. This inversion can be tuned either through excitation-light circuit switching or through z-axis growth-inducing mechanisms. The resulting materials enable spatial control over light-matter interactions, opening pathways toward multifunctional chiral optical devices with dynamically switchable circularly polarized light emissions.
The study was authored by Anqi Li, Shanshan Zhao, and Mingjiang Zhang as equal contributors, alongside Jing Lin, Yanji Huang, Zeyi Li, Guangen Li, Zhi Tong, and corresponding author Taotao Zhuang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Research facilities used included the USTC Center for Micro and Nanoscale Research and Fabrication and the Instruments Center for Physical Science at USTC. The project received financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the CAS Talent Introduction Program, the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation, and USTC. The paper was submitted on October 1, 2025, accepted on July 14, 2026, and published on July 30, 2026.
