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Main Authors: Jung, Wookjin, Lee, Dongkyu, Lee, Yonghee, Park, Ki Hyun, Yeom, Jihyeon
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09326
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author Jung, Wookjin
Lee, Dongkyu
Lee, Yonghee
Park, Ki Hyun
Yeom, Jihyeon
author_facet Jung, Wookjin
Lee, Dongkyu
Lee, Yonghee
Park, Ki Hyun
Yeom, Jihyeon
contents The integration of chirality into functional materials enables control of light-matter interactions beyond binary illumination (on/off). Conventional photoactuators rely on binary modulation, limiting them to unidirectional motion. In contrast, we introduce a ternary optical logic paradigm where actuation direction is encoded by the handedness of circularly polarized light (CPL). Here, we establish a chiral Ti$_{3}$C$_{2}$T$_{x}$ MXene platform bridging molecular chirality and mechanical actuation. Phenylalanine enantiomers are covalently anchored onto MXene nanoflakes via chiral nanopainting. The 2D confinement forces ligands into vertically aligned supramolecular networks. Interlayer-spacing analysis and simulations corroborate that such supramolecular networks unlock exceptionally broadband circular dichroism from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. This supramolecular chirality synergizes with MXene's plasmonic properties to drive handedness-dependent photothermal conversion, with a 30\% differential temperature rise between matched and mismatched CPL. Embedding this chiral MXene into thermoresponsive hydrogels realizes, to the best of our knowledge, the first CPL-driven soft actuator that implements LCP/RCP/off as a ternary input to program multidirectional deformation based on a photothermal mechanism. This molecular-to-macroscopic translation demonstrates a new paradigm for chirality-encoded soft robotics and adaptive photonics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_09326
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Translating Chirality into Multidirectional Motion through Broadband Chiroptical MXenes
Jung, Wookjin
Lee, Dongkyu
Lee, Yonghee
Park, Ki Hyun
Yeom, Jihyeon
Materials Science
The integration of chirality into functional materials enables control of light-matter interactions beyond binary illumination (on/off). Conventional photoactuators rely on binary modulation, limiting them to unidirectional motion. In contrast, we introduce a ternary optical logic paradigm where actuation direction is encoded by the handedness of circularly polarized light (CPL). Here, we establish a chiral Ti$_{3}$C$_{2}$T$_{x}$ MXene platform bridging molecular chirality and mechanical actuation. Phenylalanine enantiomers are covalently anchored onto MXene nanoflakes via chiral nanopainting. The 2D confinement forces ligands into vertically aligned supramolecular networks. Interlayer-spacing analysis and simulations corroborate that such supramolecular networks unlock exceptionally broadband circular dichroism from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. This supramolecular chirality synergizes with MXene's plasmonic properties to drive handedness-dependent photothermal conversion, with a 30\% differential temperature rise between matched and mismatched CPL. Embedding this chiral MXene into thermoresponsive hydrogels realizes, to the best of our knowledge, the first CPL-driven soft actuator that implements LCP/RCP/off as a ternary input to program multidirectional deformation based on a photothermal mechanism. This molecular-to-macroscopic translation demonstrates a new paradigm for chirality-encoded soft robotics and adaptive photonics.
title Translating Chirality into Multidirectional Motion through Broadband Chiroptical MXenes
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09326