Recently, circularly polarized luminescence (CPL)-active systems have become a very hot and interesting subject in chirality- and optics-related areas. The CPL-active systems are usually available by two approaches: covalently combining a luminescent centre to chiral motif or associating the guest of luminescent probe to a chiral host. However, all the chiral components in CPL materials were organic, although the luminescent components were alternatively organics or inorganics. Herein, the first totally inorganic CPL-active system by "luminescent guest-chiral host" strategy is proposed. Luminescent sub-10 nm lanthanide oxides (Eu O or Tb O ) nanoparticles (guests) were encapsulated into chiral non-helical SiO nanofibres (host) through calcination of chiral SiO hybrid nanofibres, trapping Eu (or Tb ). These lanthanide oxides display circular dichroism (CD) optical activity in the ultraviolet wavelength and CPL signals around at 615 nm for Eu and 545 nm for Tb . This work has implications for inorganic-based CPL-active systems by incorporation of various luminescent guests within chiral inorganic hosts.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) complexed with chiral d- (or l-) tartaric acid (tart) in water can self-organize into chiral and crystalline PEI/tart assemblies which can prompt titania deposition and impart their chirality to the resulting titania.