Roll-to-roll fabrication of touch-responsive cellulose photonic laminates

Hsin-Ling Liang, Mélanie M. Bay, Roberto Vadrucci, Charles H. Barty-King, Jialong Peng, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Michael F. L. De Volder () and Silvia Vignolini
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Hsin-Ling Liang: Cambridge University
Mélanie M. Bay: Cambridge University
Roberto Vadrucci: Cambridge University
Charles H. Barty-King: Cambridge University
Jialong Peng: Cambridge University
Jeremy J. Baumberg: Cambridge University
Michael F. L. De Volder: Cambridge University
Silvia Vignolini: Cambridge University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Hydroxypropyl-cellulose (HPC), a derivative of naturally abundant cellulose, can self-assemble into helical nanostructures that lead to striking colouration from Bragg reflections. The helical periodicity is very sensitive to pressure, rendering HPC a responsive photonic material. Recent advances in elucidating these HPC mechano-chromic properties have so-far delivered few real-world applications, which require both up-scaling fabrication and digital translation of their colour changes. Here we present roll-to-roll manufactured metre-scale HPC laminates using continuous coating and encapsulation. We quantify the pressure response of the encapsulated HPC using optical analyses of the pressure-induced hue change as perceived by the human eye and digital imaging. Finally, we show the ability to capture real-time pressure distributions and temporal evolution of a human foot-print on our HPC laminates. This is the first demonstration of a large area and cost-effective method for fabricating HPC stimuli-responsive photonic films, which can generate pressure maps that can be read out with standard cameras.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07048-6

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