Differential Absorption of Circularly Polarized Light by a Centrosymmetric Inorganic Crystal

Properties of crystalline inorganic materials are governed by universal structure–property relationships derived from their crystal symmetry, leading to paradigmatic rules on what they can and cannot do. A long-held structure–property relationship is that centrosymmetric solids do not differentially absorb circularly-polarized light. Here, we demonstrate the design, synthesis, and characterization of the centrosymmetric material Li2Co3(SeO3)4, that violates this relationship, not by defying symmetry-imposed selection rules, but by invoking a photophysical process not previously identified for inorganic crystals. This process originates from an interference between linear dichroism and linear birefringence, referred to as LD-LB, and involves strong chiroptical signals that invert upon sample flipping. In addition to enabling a chiroptical response under centrosymmetry, this process opens new photonic engineering opportunities based on inorganic solids.