J-aggregation and its characterization in Langmuir-Blodgett films of merocyanine dyes

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films are constructed by successively transferring monomolecular layers formed at the air-water interface onto solid substrates. One of the advantages of the LB technique in fabricating molecular aggregates lies in the fact that it can employ various kinds of molecules by mixing them at the air-water interface. The mixed system may exhibit new properties that are not observed for individual components. This method would be useful, for example, in the studies of the formation and control of the J-aggregates of functional dyes that attract attention both in science and technology. In this paper, I review this subject mainly based on our recent results in merocyanines. LB films of merocyanine dyes, mixed with arachidic acid (C(20)), exhibit J-aggregate formation and have been serving as typical systems in revealing the physical and structural aspects of nanosized molecular aggregates constructed as monolayers. In the case of LB films of a merocyanine dye having benzothiazole as donor nucleus (abbreviated as DS), electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy has been successful in determining the characteristic in-plane orientation of dye molecules with respect to the dipping direction, which led to the discovery of the flow orientation effect during the dipping process of LB films as the origin of optical dichroism often observed in LB films. In this article, after an introduction of ESR spectroscopy, three major topics on the merocyanine J-aggregation and its characterization in mixed films are discussed. The first topic is the observation and control of the size of J-aggregates in the dilution limit of dyes in arachidic acid matrix for a methyl-substituted DS (6-Me-DS). Dependence of atomic force microscopy (AFM) patterns on the molar ratio allows the identification of dye domains. J-band optical peak analysis based on the Kuhn's extended dipole model, supplemented by a novel application of femtosecond pump-probe optical spectroscopy, yields the size of the J-aggregates of 10(3). The second topic is the control of the J-band peak wavelengths by mixing two different kinds of dye molecules. The first case is the mixture of a J-forming 6-Me-DS and non-J-forming merocyanine analog, DO with benzo-oxazole instead of benzothiazole of DS. The second case is the mixture of both J-forming dyes but with different J-band peak positions, 6-Me-DS and another analog of 5-Cl-DS. The optical peak shifts depending on the molar mixing ratio will be presented. The last topic is related to the elucidation of electronic states of dye molecules in the J-aggregates. Light-induced ESR (LESR) of DS films with stable isotope ((15)N or (13)C)-substituted dyes provide clear evidence for the photoinduced charge transfer by the detection of hyperfine structures. Moreover, infrared (IR) spectroscopy of (13)C-enriched dye identifies the IR absorption peak of the relevant carbon in the chromophore. The results give evidence for the enhanced intramolecular charge transfer of dyes in the J-aggregates compared with an isolated merocyanine composed of donor and acceptor moiety. Lastly, the Cl attachment in 5-Cl-DS leads to a significant enhancement of the nitrogen hyperfine coupling in the LESR spectra. These examples and others demonstrate the potential of LB films of merocyanines in the studies of the nanosized molecular aggregates in monolayer assemblies.     

Effect of core twisting on self-assembly and optical properties of perylene bisimide dyes in solution and columnar liquid crystalline phases

A series of highly soluble and fluorescent core-twisted perylene bisimide dyes (PBIs) 3 a-f with different substituents at the bay area (1,6,7,12 positions of the perylene core) were synthesized and fully characterized by (1)H NMR, UV/Vis spectroscopy, MS spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The pi-pi aggregation properties of these new functional dyes were investigated in detail both in solution and in condensed phase by UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, vapor pressure osmometry (VPO), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and X-ray diffraction. Concentration-dependent UV/Vis measurements and VPO analysis revealed that these core-twisted pi-conjugated systems show distinct self-dimerization equilibria in apolar solvent methylcyclohexane (MCH) with dimerization constants between 1.3x10(4) and 30 M(-1). The photoluminescence spectra of the dimers of PBIs 3 a-f exhibit bathochromic shifts of quite different magnitude which could be attributed to different longitudinal or rotational offsets between the dyes as well as differences in the respective pi-pi stacking distance. In condensed state, quite a few of these PBIs form luminescent rectangular or hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline phases with low isotropization temperatures. The effects of the distortion of the pi systems on their pi-pi stacking and the optical properties of the resultant stacks in solution and in LC phases have been explored in detail. In one case (3 a) a particularly interesting phase change from crystalline into liquid crystalline could be observed upon annealing that was accompanied by a transformation from non-fluorescent H-type into strongly fluorescent J-type packing of the dyes.     

A comparative study on the aggregate formation of two oxazine dyes in aqueous and aqueous urea solutions

The visible absorption spectra of two oxazine dyes, brilliant cresyl blue and nile blue, in aqueous and aqueous urea solutions (0.01-1 M) were studied as a function of the dye concentration. Due to structural similarity of the investigated dyes, their spectral features were compared. The dimerization behavior of the dyes in water with or without urea was analyzed in terms of monomer-dimer equilibrium. The nature and structure of the interacting pairs for these dyes were discussed using the exciton theory. The dimerization constant values of the dyes in aqueous and aqueous urea solutions were calculated. For both the dyes in aqueous urea solutions, a reduction in dimer formation was observed. The excitonic parameters were compared with those of oxazine-1, which is structurally similar to the investigated dyes.     

Ultralarge hyperpolarizability twisted pi-electron system electro-optic chromophores: synthesis, solid-state and solution-phase structural characteristics, electronic structures, linear and nonlinear optical properties, and computational studies

This contribution details the synthesis and chemical/physical characterization of a series of unconventional twisted pi-electron system electro-optic (EO) chromophores. Crystallographic analysis of these chromophores reveals large ring-ring dihedral twist angles (80-89 degrees) and a highly charge-separated zwitterionic structure dominating the ground state. NOE NMR measurements of the twist angle in solution confirm that the solid-state twisting persists essentially unchanged in solution. Optical, IR, and NMR spectroscopic studies in both the solution phase and solid state further substantiate that the solid-state structural characteristics persist in solution. The aggregation of these highly polar zwitterions is investigated using several experimental techniques, including concentration-dependent optical and fluorescence spectroscopy and pulsed field gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR spectroscopy in combination with solid-state data. These studies reveal clear evidence of the formation of centrosymmetric aggregates in concentrated solutions and in the solid state and provide quantitative information on the extent of aggregation. Solution-phase DC electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISH) measurements reveal unprecedented hyperpolarizabilities (nonresonant mubeta as high as -488,000 x 10(-48) esu at 1907 nm). Incorporation of these chromophores into guest-host poled polyvinylphenol films provides very large electro-optic coefficients (r(33)) of approximately 330 pm/V at 1310 nm. The aggregation and structure-property effects on the observed linear/nonlinear optical properties are discussed. High-level computations based on state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) methods provide a new rationale for these exceptional hyperpolarizabilities and demonstrate significant solvation effects on hyperpolarizabilities, in good agreement with experiment. As such, this work suggests new paradigms for molecular hyperpolarizabilities and electro-optics.     

Bis(merocyanine) Homo-Folda-Dimers: Evaluation of Electronic and Spectral Changes in Well-Defined Dye Aggregate Geometries

A series of three bis(merocyanine) dyes comprising chromophores of different conjugation lengths has been synthesized and the intramolecular aggregation process was investigated by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy. The spectral changes observed upon variation of the solvent polarity reveal a folding process resulting in a cofacial π-stack of two chromophores with a decrease of the aggregation tendency with increasing chromophore length and solvent polarity. Solvent-dependent UV/Vis studies of the monomeric reference dyes show a significant increase of the polyene-like character for dyes with longer polymethine chains in nonpolar solvents, which is reversed upon aggregation due to the polarizability effect of the adjacent chromophore within the dye stack. The pronounced hypsochromic shift of the absorption band observed upon aggregation indicates strong coupling of the dyes’ transition dipole moments, which was confirmed by quantum-chemical analysis.     

Structural and electronic properties of phosphino(oligothiophene) gold(I) complexes

A series of gold(I) complexes containing phosphino(oligothiophene) ligands of varying conjugation length has been prepared. Solid state crystal structures of (PT3)AuCl (PT3 = 5-diphenylphosphino-2,2':5',2' '-terthiophene) and AuCl(PTP)AuCl (PTP = 2,5-diphenylphosphinothiophene) have been obtained. The complex AuCl(PTP)AuCl crystallizes as a dimer with two intermolecular Au-Au contacts. Variable temperature NMR spectroscopy is used to demonstrate the presence of aurophilic interactions in solution for AuI(PTP)AuI. Dual emission is observed for AuCl(PTP)AuCl in solution and is attributed to emission from both monomer and dimer. In the solid state, dimer emission is dominant. The iodo analogue, AuI(PTP)AuI, shows only low energy dimer emission in both solution and the solid state. Compounds in which the ligands contain longer bridges (either bithienyl or terthienyl) show absorption and emission bands due to the pi-pi* transition only, both in solution and the solid state.     

Circular dichroism and absorption spectroscopy of merocyanine dimer aggregates: molecular properties and exciton transfer dynamics from time-dependent quantum calculations

A wave packet approach to the calculation and interpretation of circular dichroism (CD) spectra is applied to the spectroscopy of aggregates of a merocyanine dye. A combined analysis of absorption and CD spectra allows for the extraction of geometric information and excited state electronic coupling. It is shown that in the case of dimer aggregates of a chiral merocyanine dye, it is possible to infer the dynamics of an exciton transfer directly from the CD spectrum. This relation is established via the Fourier relation to a time-dependent correlation function reflecting the quantum dynamics in the dye aggregate.     

菁染料和份菁染料溶液的光降解机理的研究

利用UV-Vis吸收光谱仪和光化学反应器,研究了菁染料和份菁染料溶液的光降解动力学,认为染料在乙腈溶液中的光褪色反应服从假一级或零级动力学.利用GC/MS光谱仪检测了染料的光降解产物.与相应的份菁染料相比,携带正电荷的菁染料具有相对较好的光稳定性.研究结果表明,菁染料光降解反应的中间体可能是染料的半氧化态Dye⁺,并利用纳秒级闪光光解技术研究了Dye⁺的瞬态吸收光谱.     

Octupolar merocyanine dyes: a new class of nonlinear optical chromophores

A set of new octupolar merocyanine chromophores was designed and synthesized. These compounds were prepared from the reaction of 1,3,5-triformyl-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzene with heterocyclic nucleophiles. Octupolar dyes were formed exclusively in their open-dye form. The one- and two-photon-absorption spectra of the dyes consist of two bands: The long-wavelength band in the two-photon absorption spectrum (a few hundreds GM above 1000?nm) matches well with the intense, long-wavelength-absorption band that is located in the visible region in the linear spectrum. Interestingly, an additional, much-more-intense TPA band in the NIR region is observed at higher energy, which corresponds to a weakly allowed one-photon electronic transition. Changing the peripheral heterocyclic moieties allows tuning of the optical properties to approach the cyanine limit (i.e., polymethine state), thus resulting in a red-shift of the low-energy one-photon-absorption band as well as to the rise of an intense two-photon-absorption band in the NIR region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first synthesis and TPA characterization of octupolar merocyanine chromophores with typical low-bond-length alternation.     

Fluorescent Dimers of Merocyanine 540 (MC540) in the Gel Phase of Phosphatidylcholine Liposomes

Abstract— Fluorescence emission from merocyanine 540 (MC540) dimers was observed in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles. This unusual behavior was observed only for vesicles in the gel-phase state. No dimer fluorescence was observed either in monopalmitoylphosphati-dylcholine (C₁₆PC) micelles or in liquid-crystalline DPPC vesicles, indicating that dimer fluorescence efficiency increases in highly packed interfaces. The excitonic theory of Kasha was used to interpret the spectral features. The overall fluorescence quantum yield (φ_r) decreases with decreasing lipid: probe ratio, not only because of the presence of a weakly fluorescent dimer that absorbs a high fraction of the total absorbed light but also due to quenching of monomer emission. This suggests the existence of probe domains. The dimer fluorescence quantum yields (φ_m) were estimated in DPPC large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) and DPPC multilamellar vesicles. The dependence of φ_r with probe concentration is compatible with values of φ_m lower than 0.05. The dimerization equilibrium of MC540 in C₁₆PC micelles and DPPC-LUV was also studied. Apparent dimerization equilibrium constants, K_dapp and dimer absorption spectrum were calculated in C₁₆PC micelles for the first time. The dimerization equilibrium constant in DPPC-LUV was calculated and discussed in terms of the fraction of volume occupied by the lipid phase.     

ABSORPTION AND FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES ON DIMERIZATION OF CHLOROALUMINUM (III) PHTHALOCYANINE TETRASULFONATE IN AQUEOUS ALCOHOLIC SOLUTIONS

Dimerization of chloroaluminum (III) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonates (AIPCS) has been observed in different aqueous alcoholic solvents at room temperature by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic methods. Both absorption and fluorescence spectral bands of the dimer are red shifted by ca 550 cm^-1 from the monomer Q bands in the corresponding spectra, suggesting that the interaction energy between the two monomer subunits is very weak. The fluorescence lifetime of the dimer is longer ( ca 9.5 ns) than that of the monomer ( ca 7–8 ns). These spectral behaviors of AIPCS dimer contrast with those of transition-metallaloid phthalocyanine dimers, which usually have a nonfluorescent face-to-face stacking conformation. The dimer fluorescence is interpreted to be due to the fact that the lowest excited singlet state of the dimer is lower in energy than a charge-resonance state, based on the excitoncoupling theory applied to the face-to-face slipping conformation. The dimerization constant determined spectrometrically decreases with an increase of water content in the aqueous alcoholic solution. Propanol and ethanol have been observed to be more effective than methanol in promoting dimerization. These results indicate that a specific interaction of water with AIPCS plays an important role in the inhibition of dimerization of AIPCS.     

Spacer‐Modulated Differentiation Between Self‐Assembly and Folding Pathways for Bichromophoric Merocyanine Dyes

We have synthesized a large series of bis(merocyanine) dyes with varying spacer unit and investigated in detail their self‐organization behavior by concentration‐ as well as solvent‐dependent UV/Vis spectroscopy. Our in‐depth studies have shown that the self‐organization of the present bis(merocyanine) dyes is subtly influenced by the nature of the spacer unit. The utilization of rigid spacers results in the formation of self‐associated bimolecular complexes with high binding strength, while flexible spacers drive the respective bichromophoric dyes to intramolecular folding. Our thorough investigations on the impact of alkyl spacer chain length on the folding tendency of the present series of bis(merocyanine) dyes revealed a biphasic behavior, that is, a steep increase of the folding tendency for the dyes containing C4 to C7 chains and then a gentle decrease for dyes with longer alkyl spacer chains as evidenced by free energy (ΔG) values for the folding of these dyes. Furthermore, analyses of aggregates’ optical properties based on exciton theory as well as quantum chemical calculations suggest a bimolecular aggregate structure for the dye possessing a rigid spacer and a rotationally twisted pleated structure for the bis(merocyanine) dyes having spacer units with less than seven carbon atoms, while the application of longer alkyl chain linkers (≥C7) provides enough flexibility to orient the chromophores in electrostatically most favored antiparallel fashion.     

Preparation and characterization of mixed thin films containing spiropyrans and long chain alkyl silanes: towards a command surface for liquid crystal realignment

Spiropyran derivatives containing variable–length linking chains and either tri- or mono-alkoxysilane end groups were synthesized. Thin films on glass slides were formed with mixture of the spiropyran compounds and either octadecyltrimethoxysilane or octadecyldimethylmethoxysilane. The photochemistry of the spiropyran in the films was investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Irradiation forms the merocyanine, which is detected by absorption spectroscopy. The rate of the thermal reversion of the merocyanine to the spiropyran was studied and found to show no dependence on chain length and resemble that found in solid polymers, not solution. Sessile drop contact angle measurements show a decrease from 70±3 to 63±2° for films prepared from 4, and a drop from 50 to 46±2 degrees for films prepared from 6 upon irradiation with UV light. Evaluation of this system as a surface to control the realignment of the nematic liquid crystal in a nematic liquid crystal proved unsuccessful, though the surface energy of the system can be changed solely by irradiation with light.     

Synthesis, structures, and properties of meso-phosphorylporphyrins: self-organization through P-oxo-zinc coordination

The synthesis, structures, and optical and electrochemical properties of meso-phosphorylporphyrins are described. The copper-catalyzed carbon-phosphorus cross-coupling reaction of a meso-iodoporphyrin with di-n-butyl phosphite and diphenylphosphane oxide has proved to be an efficient and general method for the synthesis of meso-phosphorylporphyrins. Zinc phosphorylporphyrins thus obtained readily undergo self-organization through P-oxo-Zn coordination to form noncovalently linked, cofacial porphyrin dimers or linear oligomers, which have been characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallographic analyses. In toluene, CH(2)Cl(2), and CHCl(3), the zinc phosphorylporphyrins exist mostly as dimers or monomers, depending on their concentrations, the temperature, and the presence of additives. The self-association constants for dimerization in toluene have been determined by UV/Vis absorption titration measurements. The meso-diphenylphosphorylporphyrin dimer displays excitonic coupling of the Soret band with a splitting energy of 940 cm(-1). Fluorescence lifetimes of the zinc phosphorylporphyrins have been found to be affected only slightly by the concentration of the solution, and by the addition of triphenylphosphane oxide, suggesting that the effect of dimerization on their photodynamics in the S(1) state is negligible. On the other hand, the effect of dimerization is clearly reflected in their electrochemical oxidation processes, as the initially produced radical cations are efficiently delocalized over the two porphyrin rings. These findings demonstrate the potential utility of meso-phosphorylporphyrins as new models for the special pair in photosynthesis and as new building blocks for porphyrin-based supramolecular materials.     

Effect of conjugation path length on quadratic nonlinear optical properties of monomer and aggregates of zwitterionic merocyanine dyes

We present a quantum-chemical analysis of the conjugation path length effect on first hyperpolarizabilities of a series of zwitterionic merocyanine dyes whose synthesis has been reported earlier (J. Am. Chem. Soc.2002, 124, 9431, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 3144). The effect of the conjugation path lengths is evaluated to demonstrate the engineering guidelines for enhancing molecular optical nonlinearity. The first hyperpolarizabilities are calculated for extended conjugated monomer and H and J type aggregates of merocyanine dyes, to provide insight into the intermolecular interactions and the relationship between structural and collective nonlinear optical properties. The molecular geometries for monomers are obtained via B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level optimization including the SCRF/PCM approach, and the dynamic nonlinear optical (NLO) properties for monomer and aggregates are calculated with the ZINDO/CV method, including solvent effects. It is found that the chain length dependence of the first nonlinearity peaks at n = 6 and then it starts changing slowly for monomer and aggregates of zwitterionic merocyanine dyes. It is concluded that an excellent NLO response in solution might vanish when the active chromophore forms higher H aggregates. The importance of our results on the design of electrooptic materials has been discussed.     

Solid-state photochromism of chromenes: enhanced photocoloration and observation of unstable colored species at low temperatures

Solid-state photochromism of benzopyrans and naphthopyrans (chromenes) was investigated in the temperature range between 300 and 80 K. Variable-temperature diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of microcrystalline powders showed that the extent of photocoloration was greatly enhanced at low temperatures. All the chromenes examined exhibited solid-state photochromism at low temperatures, even when they showed little or no photocoloration at room temperature. The solid-state photochromic properties of the chromenes were quite similar to those reported for analogous photochromic compounds of spiropyrans and spirooxazines, which indicates that these classes of compounds are generally photochromic even in the solid state. Photobleaching reactions of the colored merocyanine forms proceeded at low temperatures through the formation of a colorless intermediate, instead of directly resuming the original closed form. In addition to two stable planar merocyanine forms, which are usually observed in the photochromic reactions in solution, photoreactions at low temperatures allowed us to observe unstable colored species, which were tentatively assigned as nonplanar cisoid forms, and were stabilized in the solid state at low temperatures.     

Bis(merocyanine) Hetero-Folda-Dimers: Evaluation of Exciton Coupling between Different Types of π-Stacked Chromphores

Exciton coupling between different types of chromophores has been rarely investigated. Herein, a systematic study on the exciton coupling between merocyanine chromophores of different conjugation length with varying excited state energies is presented. In this work well-defined hetero-dimer stacks were obtained upon folding of bis(merocyanine) dyes in nonpolar solvents. They show distinctly different absorption properties in comparison with the spectra of the single chromophores, revealing a significant coupling between the different chromophores. The simulated absorption spectra obtained from time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations are in good agreement with the experimental spectra. Our theoretical analysis based on an extension of Kasha's exciton theory discloses strong coupling between the dyes’ transition dipole moments despite of an excited-state energy difference of 0.60 eV between the chromophores.     

用吸收光谱法研究亚甲蓝在表面活性剂存在时的聚合状态

应用紫外－可见吸收光谱研究了光敏试剂亚甲蓝在溶液中的聚合状态及其与表面活性剂之间的关系。当添加阴离子表面活性剂的浓度于其临界胶束浓度时，亚甲蓝二聚体的比例将出现一极大值；用环己烷剂萃取后，测得亚甲蓝二聚体的吸收光谱，其最大吸收波长位于６０４ｎｍ。     

Synthesis, electronic, and electro-optical properties of emissive solvatochromic phenothiazinyl merocyanine dyes

Phenothiazinyl merocyanine dyes with variable substitution patterns on the peripheral benzene ring were synthesized in good yields by Knoevenagel condensation of the corresponding phenothiazinyl aldehydes and N-methylrhodanine or indan-1,3-dione. The electronic properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, absorption, electro-optical absorption, and emission spectroscopy. All these merocyanines reveal reversible redox behavior that stems from the phenothiazinyl-centered oxidation to give stable radical cations. The redox potentials strongly correlate with Hammett σ(p) parameters. All merocyanines reveal large Stokes shifts. They also display a pronounced emissive solvatochromism, which is caused by large dipole moment changes upon excitation from the ground to the excited state. These findings are supported by solvatochromism studies and time-dependent DFT computations.     

Two-step anti-cooperative self-assembly process into defined π-stacked dye oligomers: insights into aggregation-induced enhanced emission

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomena received great popularity during the last decade but in most cases insights into the packing structure – fluorescence properties remained scarce. Here, an almost non-fluorescent merocyanine dye was equipped with large solubilizing substituents, which allowed the investigation of it''s aggregation behaviour in unpolar solvents over a large concentration range (10⁻² to 10⁻⁷ M). In depth analysis of the self-assembly process by concentration-dependent UV/Vis spectroscopy at different temperatures revealed a two-step anti-cooperative aggregation mechanism. In the first step a co-facially stacked dimer is formed driven by dipole–dipole interactions. In a second step these dimers self-assemble to give an oligomer stack consisting of about ten dyes. Concentration- and temperature-dependent UV/Vis spectroscopy provided insight into the thermodynamic parameters and allowed to identify conditions where either the monomer, the dimer or the decamer prevails. The centrosymmetric dimer structure could be proven by 2D NMR spectroscopy. For the larger decamer atomic force microscopy (AFM), diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) and vapour pressure osmometric (VPO) measurements consistently indicated that it is of small and defined size. Fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) spectroscopy provided insights into the photofunctional properties of the dye aggregates. Starting from an essentially non-fluorescent monomer (Φ_Fl = 0.23%) a strong AIEE effect with excimer-type fluorescence (large Stokes shift, increased fluorescence lifetime) is observed upon formation of the dimer (Φ_Fl = 2.3%) and decamer (Φ_Fl = 4.5%) stack. This increase in fluorescence is accompanied for both aggregates by an aggregation-induced CPL enhancement with a strong increase of the g_lum from ∼0.001 for the dimer up to ∼0.011 for the higher aggregate. Analysis of the radiative and non-radiative decay rates corroborates the interpretation that the AIEE effect originates from a pronounced decrease of the non-radiative rate due to π–π-stacking induced rigidification that outmatches the effect of the reduced radiative rate that originates from the H-type exciton coupling in the co-facially stacked dyes.

The self-assembly of a dipolar merocyanine into preferred dimers and small-sized chiral aggregates leads to enhanced emission due to a reduced non-radiative rate as well as amplified circular polarized luminescence.