New Polymer Boasts Dual Faces and Twist

Osaka, Japan - From corkscrewed vines to spiraling seashells, twists are some of nature's most beautiful designs. These forms exemplify a property known as chirality, in which an object possesses distinct left- and right-handed forms. The spin-polarized currents generated by preferential transmission of electrons with a particular spin orientation have many useful physical properties, but finding the right materials to generate spin-polarized currents has presented a challenge.

Now, researchers are harnessing chirality at the molecular scale to create advanced materials that control the movement of electrons, paving the way for future energy-efficient technologies. In an article recently published in Nature Communications, a team from the University of Osaka announced the creation of a new family of chiral semiconducting polymers whose molecular structures twist like left- or right-handed spirals.