Electronics and Photonics Research Institute , National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , Tsukuba , Ibaraki 305-8565 , Japan.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Mar 20;11(11):10841-10847. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b22498. Epub 2019 Mar 12.
Soft photonic crystals are periodic nanostructures that have attracted much attention for their applications in sensors, owing to their tunable structural colors in response to external stimuli. Patterned photonic crystals provide a novel strategy for constructing high-performance photonic materials with unique structures and functions. In this work, laser engraving is used for the first time to design patterns on a layered photonic hydrogel. This approach is based on the integration of laser power and chemical modifications to embed different polymer composites (polyelectrolyte and neutral polymers) along a prescribed laser-printed path. The polyelectrolyte and neutral composites show differential swelling or shrinking, causing a mechanical instability in the layered hydrogel. The resultant soft polymeric materials appear as synchronous tuning in the photonic band gaps in response to external stimuli. This approach is favorable for designing responsive photonic crystals with controllable optical properties and 3D shape transformation. Moreover, it is of great use in developing advanced photonic crystals for applications in sensors, soft actuators, and drug release.
软光子晶体是周期性纳米结构，由于其对外部刺激的可调结构颜色，在传感器应用中引起了广泛关注。图案化光子晶体为构建具有独特结构和功能的高性能光子材料提供了一种新策略。在这项工作中，激光雕刻首次用于设计层状光子水凝胶上的图案。这种方法基于激光功率和化学修饰的集成，沿着预定的激光打印路径嵌入不同的聚合物复合材料（聚电解质和中性聚合物）。聚电解质和中性复合材料表现出不同的溶胀或收缩，导致层状水凝胶中的机械不稳定性。所得的软聚合物材料在响应外部刺激时表现出光子带隙的同步调谐。这种方法有利于设计具有可控光学性质和 3D 形状变换的响应性光子晶体。此外，它在开发用于传感器、软致动器和药物释放的先进光子晶体方面具有很大的用途。
