Quantum Chiral Nanocarbons

Dr. Wenhiu Niu

Chiral nanocarbons have attracted growing attention due to their exotic 3D structure, inherent chirality, and intriguing optoelectronic properties, in particular, their unique chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. We are interested in constructing distinct chiral nanocarbons, e.g., high-order helicene embedded nanographenes, twisted carbon nanobelts, and chiral cylinder-shaped carbon nanobelts, which can be regarded as well-defined segment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). By development of novel chiral nanocarbons, an exciting new research avenue involves investigating how chirality affects light-matter interactions in organic molecules and how this knowledge can be utilized to simultaneously control charge, spin, and light. Due to the unique structural tunability and the specificity of quantum sensing, chiral nanocarbons have the potential to be a transformative tool in the next generation of quantum applications.