2026 Theses Doctoral

Programming Helicity in Perylene Diimide-Based Conjugated Systems

Jiang, Haoyu

Controlling chirality in extended π-conjugated materials is a central challenge in the development of next-generation chiroptical, electronic, and spintronic systems. Although helicenes, twistacenes, and graphene nanoribbons can exhibit strong chiroptical responses, their practical use is often limited by difficulties in controlling helical handedness, maintaining structural fidelity over long conjugated backbones, and connecting molecular chirality to electronic function. This dissertation addresses these challenges through the design, synthesis, and characterization of perylene diimide (PDI)-based chiral π-systems.