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Absolute quantification of enantiomeric purity of sorted carbon nanotubes by correlating hyperspectral fluorescence microscopy with ensemble chiroptical spectroscopy

López Carrillo, Miguel Ángel; Desmet, Filip; Erkens, Maksiem; Fagan, Jeffrey A.; Zheng, Ming; Li, Han 1; Flavel, Benjamin S. 1; Wenseleers, Wim; Herrebout, Wouter; Cambré, Sofie ; Levshov, Dmitry I.
1 Institut für Nanotechnologie (INT), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

Accurate determination of enantiomeric purity is essential for advancing chiral
materials in nanotechnology, optoelectronics, and quantum information sci-
ence. Chiroptical spectroscopic techniques provide rapid, non-destructive measurements of enantiomeric excess (ee), but their use for complex systems like single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is limited by the lack of enantiopure references for calibration. Here we demonstrate an absolute approach combining hyperspectral imaging (HSI) with single-nanotube counting statistics and ensemble chiroptical spectroscopy such as electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and Raman optical activity (ROA) to quantify ee without requiring such standards. Analysis of thousands of individual nanotubes reveals sensitivity of HSI and chiroptical responses to synthesis, purification, and SWCNT concentration, highlighting pronounced source-dependent inhomogeneity. Nevertheless, universal calibration curves for ECD and ROA
intensities are established from the purest, most uniform enantiomer-sorted samples. This methodology is extendable to other SWCNT chiralities and chiroptical techniques, enabling quantitative enantiomer sorting and systematic investigations of chirality-dependent properties and applications.


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000195948
Veröffentlicht am 04.08.2026
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Nanotechnologie (INT)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2026
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 2041-1723
KITopen-ID: 1000195948
Erschienen in Nature Communications
Verlag Nature Research
Band 17
Heft 1
Seiten Art.-Nr.: 6860
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 26.05.2026
Nachgewiesen in Scopus
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