Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Functional Materials
5 years ago

Photopatterning Freestanding Chiral Nematic Mesoporous Organosilica Films

Photopatterning Freestanding Chiral Nematic Mesoporous Organosilica Films
Wadood Y. Hamad, Mark J. MacLachlan, Andrea S. Terpstra
Chiral nematic mesoporous organosilica (CNMO) films are functionalized with a mixture of hydrophobic silanes and spiropyran compounds to create freestanding photochromic films that can be used for reversible photo­patterning. The mesoporosity and interconnected pore structure of the films imparted by the cellulose nanocrystal template enables a large cross-section of the material to be functionalized. Thus, the materials show intense absorption spectra from the tethered spiropyran and rapid color changes when the porous films are irradiated with UV or white light. The spiropyran-bound CNMO films behave as reversible sensors where metal binding to the spiropyran results in visible color changes detectable by the naked eye. These metals can be removed in the presence of ethanol and white light, regenerating the metal-free film. The proof-of-concept demonstrated in this paper may help to develop new photochromic displays, security features, and patterns. Freestanding photochromic films made from functionalizing chiral nematic mesoporous organosilica (CNMO) films are presented. The CNMO templated from cellulose nanocrystals shows high mesoporosity and interconnected pore structure allowing for a large cross-section of the material to be functiona­lized with spiropyran. These materials show rapid color changes when irradiated with UV or white light.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201703346

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