Robust Spin-Dependent Anisotropy of Circularly Polarized Light Detection from Achiral Layered Hybrid Perovskite Ferroelectric Crystals

Two-Dimensional Layered Germanium Iodide Perovskite Ferroelectric Semiconductors

The discovery of ferroelectricity in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors has opened a new and exciting chapter in next-generation electronics and spintronics due to their lattice-dimensionality-induced unique behaviors and fascinating functionalities brought by spontaneous polarization. The emerging layered halide perovskites with 2D lattices provide a great platform for generating reduced symmetry and low-dimensional ferroelectricity. Herein, inspired by the approach of reduced lattice dimensionality, a series of 2D layered germanium iodide perovskite ferroelectric semiconductors A2CsGe2I7 [where A=PA (propylammonium), BA (butylammonium) and AA (amylammonium)] was firstly developed, which demonstrates remarkable semiconducting features including narrow direct band gap (~1.8 eV) and high conductivity over 32.23 nS/cm. Emphatically, these layered germanium iodide perovskites manifest large in-plane ferroelectric polarization over ~10.0 μC/cm2, mainly attributed to the large off-centering ion displacement induced by stereo-active lone-pairs of Ge2+. More specifically, in contrast to three-dimensional ferroelectric CsGeI3, the representative 2D layered BA2CsGe2I7 manifests a superior polarization-sensitive bulk photovoltaic effect with a polarization ratio of 1.68 and high short circuit current density up to 81.25 μA/cm2, which is superior to those of reported layered halide perovskite ferroelectrics. This work provides an exciting pathway for the development of 2D ferroelectric semiconductors as well as sheds light on their further applications in photoelectronic fields.

2D Perovskite Heterojunction-Based Self-Powered Polarized Photodetectors with Controllable Polarization Ratio Enabled by Ferro-Pyro-Phototronic Effect

Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are commonly used in polarization-sensitive photodetectors (PDs) for applications such as polarization imaging, remote sensing, and optical communication. Although various methods exist to adjust the polarization-sensitive photocurrent, a universal and effective approach for continuous control of MHPs' optoelectronic and polarized properties is lacking. A universal strategy to electrically modulate the polarization ratio (PR) of self-powered polarized PDs using the ferro-pyro-phototronic effect (FPPE) in 2D perovskites is presented. By varying the amplitude and direction of ferroelectric polarization voltage, the built-in electric field in the heterojunction can be modulated, allowing for controllable PR regulation and adjustable polarization characteristics. Moreover, the polarized pyroelectric photoresponses are realized, significantly enhancing the responsivity, response speed of the polarized PDs. Both the pyroelectric currents and photocurrents exhibit obvious polarization characteristics. This method's versatility is demonstrated by creating three additional quasi-2D MHP ferroelectric-based polarized-sensitive PDs. A proof-of-concept for encrypted optical communication is achieved using the UV-sensitive PDs as light-sensing units. These findings highlight FPPE's potential to enhance ferroelectric device polarization control, enabling high-performance and self-powered polarization photodetection.

Manipulating perovskite structural asymmetry for high-performing self-powered full-stokes polarimetry

Developing direct full-stokes imaging polarimetry is essential for various applications but remains challenging. Perovskites have superior optoelectronic properties and structural diversity, making them ideal candidates for high-performing direct full-stokes polarimetry. However, perovskite suffers low chiroptical activity due to inefficient chiral transfer, which greatly limits its circular-polarization-vector discrimination. These issues urgently require remedy. Here, we demonstrate that perovskites' chiroptical activity is highly related to their structural chiral-distortion extent. We propose using halide mixing to construct asymmetric chiral transfer to heighten its structural chiral-distortion extent. Accordingly, we report a 16-fold increment in the optical chiroptical activity. Further ab initio calculations verify that the enhancement is due to the strengthened magnetic transition dipole in mixed-halide structures. We herein report a self-powered, direct full-Stokes polarimetry with a high detectivity up to 1.2 × 1012 Jones and low detection errors (ΔS1-3 ≤ 5.0%). We further showcase their application in full-stokes imaging polarimetry with the lowest detection errors yet.

Mechanical Twisting-Induced Enhancement of Second-Order Optical Nonlinearity in a Flexible Molecular Crystal

Flexible molecular crystals are essential for advancing smart materials, providing unique functionality and adaptability for applications in next-generation electronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy storage. However, the optical applications of flexible molecular crystals have been largely restricted to linear optics, with nonlinear optical (NLO) properties rarely explored. Herein, we report on the application of mechanical twisting of flexible molecular crystals for second-order nonlinear optics. The crystal formed through the self-assembly of the model compound 9-anthraldehyde (AA) features an intrinsic chiral and noncentrosymmetric structure, demonstrating high efficiency second harmonic generation (SHG) and NLO circular dichroism, which could be greatly enhanced by macroscopic mechanical twisting. The anisotropic molecular stacking imparts the AA crystal with mechanical flexibility of combined elastic bending and plastic twisting. The isochiral mechanical twisting could greatly enhance the SHG intensities by an order of magnitude depending on their M- or P-configuration. Meanwhile, the SHG circular dichroism factor gSHG-CD of the isochiral twisted crystal is greatly increased, achieving the highest reported NLO anisotropy factor among organic NLO materials. These boosted NLO performances of SHG intensity and nonlinear chiroptical response are expected to greatly expand the photonic applications of flexible molecular crystals.

Halogen Substitution Strategy for Exploiting High-Performance Molecular Ferroelectrics

Molecular ferroelectrics are emerging as a robust family of electric-ordered materials due to their distinct structural flexibility, molecular tunability, and versatility. In recent years, diverse chemical design approaches have significantly contributed to discovering and optimizing ferroelectric performances of molecule-based ferroelectric systems. Notably, halogen substitution is one of the most effective strategies for inducing symmetry breaking and optimizing the dipole moments and potential energy barriers. In this minireview, we have summarized recent significant advances of halogen substitution strategy in molecule-based ferroelectrics, including organic-inorganic hybrids and metal-free molecular systems. Subsequently, we discuss the underlying mechanism of halogen substitution to improve ferroelectric performances, including the generation of spontaneous polarization, enhancement of Curie temperature, and bandgap engineering. Finally, the future directions in designing and modulating molecular ferroelectrics by halogen substitution strategy are also highlighted.

Efficient Charge Transport in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells via 2D/3D Ferroelectric Heterojunction

While the 2D/3D heterojunction is an effective method to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), carriers are often confined in the quantum wells (QWs) due to the unique structure of 2D perovskite, which makes the charge transport along the out-of-plane direction difficult. Here, a 2D/3D ferroelectric heterojunction formed by 4,4-difluoropiperidine hydrochloride (2FPD) in inverted PSCs is reported. The enriched 2D perovskite (2FPD)2PbI4 layer with n = 1 on the perovskite surface exhibits ferroelectric response and has oriented dipoles along the out-of-plane direction. The ferroelectricity of the oriented dipole layer facilitates the enhancement of the built-in electric field (1.06 V) and the delay of the cooling process of hot carriers, reflected in the high carrier temperature (above 1400 K) and the prolonged photobleach recovery time (139.85 fs, measured at bandgap), improving the out-of-plane conductivity. In addition, the alignment of energy levels is optimized and exciton binding energy (32.8 meV) is reduced by changing the dielectric environment of the surface. Finally, the 2FPD-treated PSCs achieve a PCE of 24.82% (certified: 24.38%) with the synergistic effect of ferroelectricity and defect passivation, while maintaining over 90% of their initial efficiency after 1000 h of maximum power point tracking.

Chiral Perovskite Heterostructure Films of CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots and 2D Chiral Perovskite with Circularly Polarized Luminescence Performance and Energy Transfer

This work reports the synthesis of chiral perovskite heterostructure films by combining a two-dimensional (2D) chiral (R-/S-MBA)2PbI4 perovskite with CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs). The as-synthesized chiral heterostructure films exhibit obvious circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties, even though pure 2D chiral perovskite cannot present photoluminescence. It indicates that the chirality of the excited state of the QDs originates from the 2D chiral perovskite. The circular polarization-resolved transient absorption (TA) spectra further demonstrate that the CPL response of heterostructure films originates from the energy transfer between the chiral perovskite layer and QDs layer and the suppression of spin relaxation, which induces the imbalance of the spin population of excited states in QDs layer. In addition, the photoluminescence (PL), circular dichroism (CD), and CPL spectra of these heterostructure films can be controlled by varying the thickness and component of the chiral perovskite layer, which demonstrates that the anion exchange between chiral perovskite and CsPbBr3 QDs can tune the chemical composition and optoelectronic properties due to the low bonding energy difference between them and decrease the strain within the QDs layer to reduce the radiative recombination lifetime. This work provides guidance for the synthesis of chiral perovskites with a strong CPL response and further provides insight into the origination of CPL.

Atomically Precise Chiral Metal Nanoclusters for Circularly Polarized Light Detection

Circularly polarized light (CPL) detection is of great significance in various applications such as drug identification, sensing and imaging. Atomically precise chiral metal nanoclusters with intense circular dichroism (CD) signals are promising candidates for CPL detection, which can further facilitate device miniaturization and integration. Herein, we report the preparation of a pair of optically active chiral silver nanoclusters [Ag7(R/S-DMA)2(dpppy)3] (BF4)3 (R/S-Ag7) for direct CPL detection. The crystal structure and molecular formula of R/S-Ag7 clusters are confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and high-resolution mass spectrometry. R/S-Ag7 clusters exhibit strong CD spectra and CPL both in solution and solid states. When used as the photoactive materials in photodetectors, R/S-Ag7 enables effective discrimination between left-handed circularly polarized and right-handed circularly polarized light at 520 nm with short response time, high responsivity and considerable discrimination ratio. This study is the first report on using atomically precise chiral metal nanoclusters for CPL detection.

Coupled Kite-to-Square Distortion Transition and Physical Properties in 2D Lead Halide Perovskite

2D lead halide perovskites showcase diverse electrical and optoelectrical properties due to their adaptable structural distortion, which dictates the symmetry characteristics of the material. To accommodate the geometric shape of the cation, the inorganic layer of the 2D perovskite often undergoes specific distortions such as lead-halide bond length elongation/compression and lead atom displacement. The resultant distortion manifests as a quadrilateral shape formed by Pb atoms from four adjacent four octahedrons. The degree of distortion increases as the quadrilateral deviates further from a square shape and vice versa. This quadrilateral shape not only visually represents the magnitude of distortion but also confirms its direction. During the transition from kite to square distortion under external stimuli, the positions of the Pb atoms vividly illustrate the symmetry-breaking process, corresponding to a shift from high to low symmetry states. The electrical and optoelectronic properties, including ferroelectricity, pyroelectricity, piezoelectricity, nonlinear optical properties, and characteristics related to bulky photovoltaic effects, some of them exhibit direction dependence nature. This perspective employed a visible structural distortion approach to elucidate symmetry breaking and coupling distortion transitions with eight optoelectronic physical properties in 2D layered perovskite. We review recent research advancements and outline current challenges that help us to understand the structure-property relationship of 2D perovskite.

Highly Stable MOF-Type Lead Halide Luminescent Ferroelectrics

Lead halide molecular ferroelectrics represent an important class of luminescent ferroelectrics, distinguished by their high chemical and structural tunability, excellent processability and distinctive luminescent characteristics. However, their inherent instability, prone to decomposition upon exposure to moisture and light, hinders their broader ferroelectric applications. Herein, for the first time, we present a series of isoreticular metal-organic framework (MOF)-type lead halide luminescent ferroelectrics, demonstrating exceptional robustness under ambient conditions for at least 15 months and even when subjected to aqueous boiling conditions. Unlike conventional metal-oxo secondary building units (SBUs) in MOFs adopting highly centrosymmetric structure with limited structural distortion, our lead halide-based MOFs occupy structurally deformable [Pb2X]+ (X=Cl-/Br-/I-) SBUs that facilitate a c-axis-biased displacement of Pb2+ centers and substantially contribute to thermoinducible structural transformation. Importantly, this class of MOF-type lead halide ferroelectrics undergo ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transitions with remarkably high Curie temperature of up to 505 K, superior to most of molecular ferroelectrics. Moreover, the covalent bonding between phosphorescent organic component and the light-harvesting inorganic component achieves efficient spin-orbit coupling and intersystem crossing, resulting in long-lived afterglow emission. The compelling combination of high stability, ferroelectricity and afterglow emission exhibited by lead halide MOFs opens up many potential opportunities in energy-conversion applications.

Phase Transitions and Dynamics in Mixed Three- and Low-Dimensional Lead Halide Perovskites

Lead halide perovskites are extensively investigated as efficient solution-processable materials for photovoltaic applications. The greatest stability and performance of these compounds are achieved by mixing different ions at all three sites of the APbX3 structure. Despite the extensive use of mixed lead halide perovskites in photovoltaic devices, a detailed and systematic understanding of the mixing-induced effects on the structural and dynamic aspects of these materials is still lacking. The goal of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge on mixing effects on the structural phase transitions, crystal symmetry, cation and lattice dynamics, and phase diagrams of three- and low-dimensional lead halide perovskites. This review analyzes different mixing recipes and ingredients providing a comprehensive picture of mixing effects and their relation to the attractive properties of these materials.

Regulating Circularly Polarized Light Detection via Polar-Phase Transition in Alternating Chiral-Achiral Cations Intercalation-Type Hybrid Perovskites

Circularly polarized light (CPL) detection has wide applications in many fields, where the anisotropy factor (gIph ) is an important indicator to characterize the CPL detection performance. So far, many materials with high gIph have been reported, however, the exploration of the regulation of gIph is still in its infancy. Herein, two novel alternating chiral-achiral cations intercalation-type chiral hybrid perovskites (CHPs), named (R/S-1-phenylpropylamine)(propylamine)PbBr4 (1-R/S), exhibit above room-temperature (RT) polar-phase transition, which greatly regulates the gIph value. The gIph of 1-R is 0.04 in high-temperature phase chiral non-polar (P21 21 21 ) by applying 5 V bias, interestingly, with the temperature decrease, the gIph value in low-temperature phase chiral polar (P21 ) gradually increases (0.22@360K, 0.40@340K, 0.47@320K), and finally reaches a maximum of 0.5 at RT. Such value is not only the highest among 2D CHPs to date, but presents a 12.5-fold amplification compared with 0.04. Further, this rare phenomenon should be attributed to the built-in electric field induced by the polar photovoltaic effect, which sheds light on further obtaining CHPs with large gIph .

Enhanced Circular Dichroism and Polarized Emission in an Achiral, Low Band Gap Bismuth Iodide Perovskite Derivative

Lead halide perovskites and related main-group halogenido metalates offer unique semiconductor properties and diverse applications in photovoltaics, solid-state lighting, and photocatalysis. Recent advances in incorporating chiral organic cations have led to the emergence of chiral metal-halide semiconductors with intriguing properties, such as chiroptical activity and chirality-induced spin selectivity, enabling the generation and detection of circularly polarized light and spin-polarized electrons for applications in spintronics and quantum information. However, understanding the structural origin of chiroptical activity remains challenging due to macroscopic factors and experimental limitations. In this work, we present an achiral perovskite derivative [Cu2(pyz)3(MeCN)2][Bi3I11] (CuBiI; pyz = pyrazine; MeCN = acetonitrile), which exhibits remarkable circular dichroism (CD) attributed to the material's noncentrosymmetric nature. CuBiI features a unique structure as a poly-threaded iodido bismuthate, with [Bi3I11]2- chains threaded through a cationic two-dimensional coordination polymer. The material possesses a low, direct optical band gap of 1.70 eV. Notably, single crystals display both linear and circular optical activity with a large anisotropy factor of up to 0.16. Surprisingly, despite the absence of chiral building blocks, CuBiI exhibits a significant degree of circularly polarized photoluminescence, reaching 4.9%. This value is comparable to the results achieved by incorporating chiral organic molecules into perovskites, typically ranging from 3-10% at zero magnetic field. Our findings provide insights into the macroscopic origin of CD and offer design guidelines for the development of materials with high chiroptical activity.

Bulk Photovoltaic Effect Along the Nonpolar Axis in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskites

The origin of the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) was considered as a built-in electric field formed by the macroscopic polarization of materials. Alternatively, the "shift current mechanism" has been gradually accepted as the more appropriate description of the BPVE. This mechanism implies that the photocurrent generated by the BPVE is a topological current featuring an ultrafast response and dissipation-less nature, which is very attractive for photodetector applications. Meanwhile, the origin of the BPVE in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) has not been discussed and is still widely accepted as the classical mechanism without any experimental evidence. Herein, we observed the BPVE along the nonpolar axis in OIHPs, which is inconsistent with the classical explanation. Furthermore, based on the nonlinear optical tensor correlation, we substantiated that the BPVE in OIHPs is originated in the shift current mechanism.

Mixing cage cations in 2D metal-halide ferroelectrics enhances the ferro-pyro-phototronic effect for self-driven photopyroelectric detection

The ferro-pyro-phototronic (FPP) effect, coupling photoexcited pyroelectricity and photovoltaics, paves an effective way to modulate charge-carrier behavior of optoelectronic devices. However, reports of promising FPP-active systems remain quite scarce due to a lack of knowledge on the coupling mechanism. Here, we have successfully enhanced the FPP effect in a series of ferroelectrics, BA2Cs1-xMAxPb2Br7 (BA = butylammonium, MA = methylammonium, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.34), rationally assembled by mixing cage cations into 2D metal-halide perovskites. Strikingly, chemical alloying of Cs+/MA+ cations leads to the reduction of exciton binding energy, as verified by the x = 0.34 component; this facilitates exciton dissociation into free charge-carriers and boosts photo-activities. The crystal detector thus displays enhanced FPP current at zero bias, almost more than 10 times higher than that of the x = 0 prototype. As an innovative study on the FPP effect, this work affords new insight into the fundamental principle of ferroelectrics and creates a new strategy for self-driven photodetection.

Bulk Photovoltaic Effect in Two-Dimensional Distorted MoTe2

In future solar cell technologies, the thermodynamic Shockley-Queisser limit for solar-to-current conversion in traditional p-n junctions could potentially be overcome with a bulk photovoltaic effect by creating an inversion broken symmetry in piezoelectric or ferroelectric materials. Here, we unveiled mechanical distortion-induced bulk photovoltaic behavior in a two-dimensional (2D) material, MoTe2, caused by the phase transition and broken inversion symmetry in MoTe2. The phase transition from single-crystalline semiconducting 2H-MoTe2 to semimetallic 1T'-MoTe2 was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We used a micrometer-scale system to measure the absorption of energy, which reduced from 800 to 63 meV during phase transformation from hexagonal to distorted octahedral and revealed a smaller bandgap semimetallic behavior. Experimentally, a large bulk photovoltaic response is anticipated with the maximum photovoltage VOC = 16 mV and a positive signal of the ISC = 60 μA (400 nm, 90.4 Wcm-2) in the absence of an external electric field. The maximum values of both R and EQE were found to be 98 mAW-1 and 30%, respectively. Our findings are distinctive features of the photocurrent responses caused by in-plane polarity and its potential from a wide pool of established TMD-based nanomaterials and a cutting-edge approach to optimize the efficiency in converting photons-to-electricity for power harvesting optoelectronics devices.

Centimeter-Size Single Crystals of Halide Perovskite Photoferroelectric Solid Solution with Ultrahigh Pyroelectricity Boosted Photodetection

Photoferroelectrics, especially emerging halide perovskite ferroelectrics, have motivated tremendous interests owing to their fascinating bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) and cross-coupled functionalities. However, solid solutions of halide perovskite photoferroelectrics with controllable structure and enhanced performance are scarcely explored. Herein, through mixing cage cation, a homogeneous halide perovskite photoferroelectric PA2 FAx MA1-x Pb2 Br7 solid solution (PA, FA and MA are CH3 CH2 CH2 NH3 + , NH2 CHNH2 + and CH3 NH3 + , 0≤x≤1) has been developed, which demonstrates tunable Curie temperature in a wide range of 263-323 K and excellent optoelectrical features. As the component adjusted to x=0.7, the bulk crystal demonstrates ultrahigh pyroelectric coefficient up to 1.48 μC cm-2  K-1 around room temperature. Strikingly, benefiting from the light-induced pyroelectricity and remarkable BPVE, a self-powered and sensitive photodetector based solid solution crystals with boosted responsivity and detectivity over than 1300 % has been achieved. This pioneering work sheds light on the exploration of photoferroelectric solid solutions towards high-performance photoelectronic devices.

Emerging Halide Perovskite Ferroelectrics

Halide perovskites have gained tremendous attention in the past decade owing to their excellent properties in optoelectronics. Recently, a fascinating property, ferroelectricity, has been discovered in halide perovskites and quickly attracted widespread interest. Compared with traditional perovskite oxide ferroelectrics, halide perovskites display natural advantages such as structural softness, low weight, and easy processing, which are highly desirable in applications pursuing miniaturization and flexibility. This review focuses on the current research progress in halide perovskite ferroelectrics, encompassing the emerging materials systems and their potential applications in ferroelectric photovoltaics, self-powered photodetection, and X-ray detection. The main challenges and possible solutions in the future development of halide perovskite ferroelectric materials are also attempted to be pointed out.

Circularly Polarized Light Responsive Materials: Design Strategies and Applications

Circularly polarized light (CPL) with the end of optical vector traveling along circumferential trajectory shows left- and right-handedness, which transmits chiral information to materials via complicated CPL-matter interactions. Materials with circular dichroism respond to CPL illumination selectively with differential outputs that can be used to design novel photodetectors. Racemic or achiral compounds under CPL go through photodestruction, photoresolution, and asymmetric synthesis pathways to generate enantiomeric bias and optical activity. By this strategy, helical polymers and chiral inorganic plasmonic nanostructures are synthesized directly, and their intramolecular folding and subsequent self-assembly are photomodulable as well. In the aggregated state of self-assembly and liquid crystal phase, helical sense of the dynamic molecular packing is sensitive to enantiomeric bias brought by CPL, enabling the chiral amplification to supramolecular scale. In this review, the application-guided design strategies of CPL-responsive materials are aimed to be systematically summarized and discussed. Asymmetric synthesis, resolution, and property-modulation of small organic compounds, polymers, inorganic nanoparticles, supramolecular assemblies and liquid crystals are highlighted based on the important developments during the last decades. Besides, applications of light-matter interactions including CPL detection and biomedical applications are also referred.

A nickel(ii)-based one-dimensional organic-inorganic halide perovskite ferroelectric with the highest Curie temperature

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs) are very eye-catching due to their chemical tunability and rich physical properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetism, photovoltaic properties and photoluminescence. However, no nickel-based OIHP ferroelectrics have been reported so far. Here, we designed an ABX3 OIHP ferroelectric (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3, where the 3-pyrrolinium cations are located on the voids surrounded by one-dimensional chains composed of NiCl6-face-sharing octahedra via hydrogen bonding interactions. Such a unique structure enables the (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3 with a high spontaneous polarization (P s) of 5.8 μC cm-2 and a high Curie temperature (T c) of 428 K, realizing dramatic enhancement of 112 and 52 K compared to its isostructural (3-pyrrolinium)MCl3 (M = Cd, Mn). To our knowledge, remarkably, (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3 should be the first case of nickel(ii)-based OIHP ferroelectric to date, and its T c of 428 K (35 K above that of BaTiO3) is the highest among all reported one-dimensional OIHP ferroelectrics. This work offers a new structural building block for enriching the family of OIHP structures and will inspire the further exploration of new nickel(ii)-based OIHP ferroelectrics.

Charge-Transfer Complex Doped Photothermal Hydrogels for Discriminating Circularly Polarized Near-Infrared Light

Hydrogels behave as potential candidates to investigate circularly polarized light (CP)-matter interaction, which however suffer from small sensitivity towards circular polarization. Here we report a general protocol to build hydrogels from π-conjugated amino acids with coassembled charge-transfer (CT) complexes, covering a wide scope of donors and acceptors, which were incorporated into stable hydrogel matrices. CT complexes formed block coassemblies with gelators, induced the emergence of macroscopic chiral helices, where efficient chirality transfer occurs to realize tunable Cotton effects from visible light to NIR-I region depending on the structures of CT pairs. The hybrid hydrogels showed tunable photothermal performances with excellent heating-cooling cycling durability. Circularly polarized NIR light selectively triggered gel-solution phase transition at different timescales. Left- and right-CP illumination generates up to 2.5 folds difference in gel collapse time that allows for direct discrimination by naked eyes.