Chiroptical and morphological investigation of achiral PF6BT blended with chiral polymers: Chirality induction and visualization of topological structures.

In this contribution, we explore the chiroptical properties of achiral PF6BT blended with three chiral polyfluorene derivatives using the same 1:9 chiral/achiral ratio. Circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD) revealed that the sergeants and soldiers principle was operating in annealed thin films, reaching a CD intensity of 1400 mdeg, signal unequivocally associated to the PF6BT backbone. Dissymmetry factor obtained in two blends were superior to that of pristine chiral polymers. Atomic force and confocal microscopies were employed to explore the morphological properties. Confocal analysis results showed that different types of chiral:achiral aggregations were evidenced in the blends. AFM height images revealed several self-assembled helical fibers and nanotoroids, and a rare supramolecular topological morphology, a Möbius strip. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]