Pasta-shaped structures explain chiral light emission in polymers

Polymers that emit chiral light could lead to more efficient screens for our electronic devices. However, the origins of the chiral optical phenomena in these systems are unknown. Now, scientists may have found an answer: tiny, twisted structures, shaped like fusilli pasta, arranged in a weakly ordered blue phase.¹ This new molecular model provides the perfect recipe to prepare strong chiral light-emitting polymers.