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Color Tunable Poly ( N ‐Isopropylacrylamide)‐ co ‐Acrylic Acid Microgel–Au Hybrid Assemblies
Author(s) -
Sorrell Courtney D.,
Carter Matthew C. D.,
Serpe Michael J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201001714
Subject(s) - materials science , poly(n isopropylacrylamide) , fabry–pérot interferometer , acrylic acid , lower critical solution temperature , chemical engineering , polymer , optoelectronics , copolymer , composite material , wavelength , engineering
A new class of materials that are capable of color tunability over 300 nm with a 15 °C temperature change is introduced. The materials are assembled from thermoresponsive poly ( N ‐isopropylacrylamide)‐ co ‐acrylic acid (pNIPAm‐ co ‐AAc) microgels, which are deposited on Au coated glass substrates. The films are also pH responsive; the temperature‐induced color change was suppressed at high pH and is consistent with the behavior of a solution of suspended microgels. The mechanism proposed to account for the observed optical properties suggests that they result from the two Au layers being separated from each other by the “monolithic” microgel film, much like a Fabry‐Pérot etalon or interferometer. It is the modulation of the distance between these two layers, facilitated by the microgel collapse transition at high temperature, that allows the color to be tuned. The sensitivity of the system presented here will be used for future sensing and biosensing applications, as well as for light filtering applications.