Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.
Nat Commun. 2020 Mar 19;11(1):1448. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15288-8.
Elastic folding, a phenomenon widely existing in nature, has attracted great interests to understand the math and physical science behind the topological transition on surface, thus can be used to create frontier engineering solutions. Here, we propose a topo-optical sensing strategy with ultra-high contrast by programming surface folds on targeted area with a thin optical indicator layer. A robust and precise signal generation can be achieved under mechanical compressive strains (>0.4). This approach bridges the gap in current mechano-responsive luminescence mechanism, by utilizing the unwanted oxygen quenching effect of Iridium-III (Ir-III) fluorophores to enable an ultra-high contrast signal. Moreover, this technology hosts a rich set of attractive features such as high strain sensing, encoded logic function, direct visualisation and good adaptivity to the local curvature, from which we hope it will enable new opportunities for designing next generation flexible/wearable devices.
弹性折叠是一种广泛存在于自然界中的现象，它引起了人们极大的兴趣，以了解表面拓扑转变背后的数学和物理科学，从而可以用于创造前沿工程解决方案。在这里，我们提出了一种具有超高对比度的拓扑光学传感策略，通过在具有薄光学指示剂层的目标区域上编程表面折叠来实现。在机械压缩应变（>0.4）下可以实现稳健且精确的信号生成。这种方法通过利用铱-III（Ir-III）荧光团的无用氧猝灭效应来实现超高对比度信号，从而弥合了当前机械响应发光机制中的差距。此外，该技术具有一系列吸引人的特点，例如高应变传感、编码逻辑功能、直接可视化和对局部曲率的良好适应性，我们希望它将为设计下一代灵活/可穿戴设备提供新的机会。
