biostudies-literatureCao MCanada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada (Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program)Canada Foundation for Innovation (Fondation canadienne pour l'innovation)National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)2375https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10943238biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)There is interest in developing sustainable materials displaying circularly polarized room-temperature phosphorescence, which have been scarcely reported. Here, we introduce biobased thin films exhibiting circularly polarized luminescence with simultaneous room-temperature phosphorescence. For this purpose, phosphorescence-active lignosulfonate biomolecules are co-assembled with cellulose nanocrystals in a chiral construct. The lignosulfonate is shown to capture the chirality generated by cellulose nanocrystals within the films, emitting circularly polarized phosphorescence with a 0.21 dissymmetry factor and 103 ms phosphorescence lifetime. By contrast with most organic phosphorescence materials, this chiral-phosphorescent system possesses phosphorescence stability, with no significant recession under extreme chemical environments. Meanwhile, the luminescent films resist water and humid environments but are fully biodegradable (16 days) in soil conditions. The introduced bio-based, environmentally-friendly circularly polarized phosphorescence system is expected to open many opportunities, as demonstrated here for information processing and anti-counterfeiting.Nature communicationsBiobased and biodegradable films exhibiting circularly polarized room temperature phosphorescence.PMC1094323831890774 and 31800494CFI Project 3862392356301 and 21908146CERC-2018-00006Yu ZQCao MShen JLi JLi SChen ZRen YLiu SRojas OJWu YfalseBiobased and biodegradable films exhibiting circularly polarized room temperature phosphorescence.There is interest in developing sustainable materials displaying circularly polarized room-temperature phosphorescence, which have been scarcely reported. Here, we introduce biobased thin films exhibiting circularly polarized luminescence with simultaneous room-temperature phosphorescence. For this purpose, phosphorescence-active lignosulfonate biomolecules are co-assembled with cellulose nanocrystals in a chiral construct. The lignosulfonate is shown to capture the chirality generated by cellulose nanocrystals within the films, emitting circularly polarized phosphorescence with a 0.21 dissymmetry factor and 103 ms phosphorescence lifetime. By contrast with most organic phosphorescence materials, this chiral-phosphorescent system possesses phosphorescence stability, with no significant recession under extreme chemical environments. Meanwhile, the luminescent films resist water and humid environments but are fully biodegradable (16 days) in soil conditions. The introduced bio-based, environmentally-friendly circularly polarized phosphorescence system is expected to open many opportunities, as demonstrated here for information processing and anti-counterfeiting.2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Mar2025-04-26T23:04:06.56Z2025-04-06T17:26:18.864ZS-EPMC109432383849098510.1038/s41467-024-45844-5