Circularly Polarized Luminescence Switching in Small Organic Molecules

The circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) switching is of significant interest for applications in security technologies and sensing devices. Small organic molecules (SOMs) show several advantages over metal complexes, supramolecular assemblies, and polymers. Therefore, the recent progress on the CPL switching in SOMs is here reviewed. The results are summarized based on the strategies used to tune factors that influence the emission properties, and thus, to realize CPL switching. The strategies that have been adopted include promoting the excimer formation of fluorescent units, changing the conformation of fluorophores, tuning the electronic structure of the pi-skeleton/substituent, and modulating the intramolecular charge-transfer dynamics.