Covalent-bonding chiroptical network structures for circular polarization differential imaging

Abstract Visualization in complex, extreme environments necessitates that the imaging material/system to deliver more comprehensive information and endures external mechanical deformation. Endowing polarization, for example, helicity, in adaptable optical materials—to construct circular-polarization-enabled imaging—offers the chance to address the issue. However, retaining considerable luminescence asymmetry during processing while behaving like an elastic rubber remains challenging, resulting from unstable circularly polarized luminescence when deforming existing polarization materials. Here, we propose a covalent cross-linking strategy, combining a sustainable light generator with an optical helicity modulator, to prepare chiroptical network structures exhibiting superior mechanical-chiroptical coupling. The obtained structures provide satisfying circularly polarized luminescence with an asymmetry factor up to 1.31 alongside exceptional tensile strain tolerance, and more importantly, the asymmetry maintains a magnitude of 10−1 even with 80% deformation. We further advance our materials into wearable polarization optical sensors, practicing our developed circular polarization differential imaging in a fire scenario, showing an advancement in imaging resolution compared to other technologies such as thermal, intensity and fluorescence imaging. This covalent-bonding chiroptical network structures enable deformable optical helicity, paving a way for achieving portable imaging identification under extreme conditions.