Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Inorganic Materials: Encapsulating Guest Lanthanide Oxides in Chiral Silica Hosts

Sand in the tartan kilt? Inorganic materials assembled with chiral silica hosts and luminescent oxide guests were synthesized by entrapping lanthanide ions into chiral silica loaded with polyethyleneimine/tartaric acid and subsequently calcined at 900 °C. The lanthanide oxide nanoparticles of Eu 2 O 3 and Tb 2 O 3 formed in the restricted space of the chiral d ‐ and l ‐silica hosts displayed chiral signals both in circular dichroism (CD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL).