Reconfigurable photonic crystals enabled by pressure-responsive shape-memory polymers

Yin Fang, Yongliang Ni, Sin-Yen Leo, Curtis Taylor, Vito Basile and Peng Jiang ()
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Yin Fang: University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
Yongliang Ni: University of Florida
Sin-Yen Leo: University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
Curtis Taylor: University of Florida
Vito Basile: ITIA-CNR, Industrial Technologies and Automation Institute, National Council of Research, Via Bassini, 15, 20133 Milano, Italy
Peng Jiang: University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Smart shape-memory polymers can memorize and recover their permanent shape in response to an external stimulus (for example, heat). They have been extensively exploited for a wide spectrum of applications ranging from biomedical devices to aerospace morphing structures. However, most of the existing shape-memory polymers are thermoresponsive and their performance is hindered by heat-demanding programming and recovery steps. Although pressure is an easily adjustable process variable such as temperature, pressure-responsive shape-memory polymers are largely unexplored. Here we report a series of shape-memory polymers that enable unusual ‘cold’ programming and instantaneous shape recovery triggered by applying a contact pressure at ambient conditions. Moreover, the interdisciplinary integration of scientific principles drawn from two disparate fields—the fast-growing photonic crystal and shape-memory polymer technologies—enables fabrication of reconfigurable photonic crystals and simultaneously provides a simple and sensitive optical technique for investigating the intriguing shape-memory effects at nanoscale.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8416

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