University at Buffalo Researchers Engineer Chiral Semiconductors to Absorb Visible Light Waves

University at Buffalo researchers develop a chiral perovskite system that absorbs visible light, enabling advanced polarized light sensors and tech.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 6:20 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from EurekAlert!

Engineering Asymmetrical Materials for Next Generation Electronics

Scientific progress in the field of optoelectronics has reached a new milestone as researchers successfully bridge the gap between chiral symmetry and visible light absorption. Chiral semiconductors, which possess a structural "handedness" similar to DNA, have long held promise for advanced computing, yet their inability to efficiently absorb visible light has limited their practical utility. A study recently published in Nature Communications reveals that by chemically merging these semiconductors with specific organic molecules, the resulting material system can finally interact with the visible spectrum while maintaining its unique spatial orientation.

Overcoming the Energy Constraints of Chiral Bandgaps

The primary obstacle facing these materials has been a significant energy gap that prevented lower energy photons from exciting electrons to higher states. Traditionally, chiral semiconductors only responded to high energy ultraviolet light, rendering them inactive under standard visible conditions. According to Wanyi Nie, PhD, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo, the team addressed this limitation by introducing a dopant molecule known as F4TCNQ. This organic compound acts as an electron acceptor, creating a new pathway for charge transfer that allows the material to capture and process visible light waves effectively.

The Functional Mechanics of Property Transfer

The core innovation of this research lies in the successful transfer of physical properties from a chiral host to a non-chiral guest. When the new material system is exposed to light, electrons move from the chiral perovskite structure to the higher energy states of the dopant molecule. This movement ensures that the resulting electronic state inherits the "handedness" of the original crystal. Associate professor Dave Tsai compared this interaction to a basketball assist, where one molecule reads the incoming light data and passes the electronic information to its partner to complete the functional circuit.