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Photonic Hydrogels from Chiral Nematic Mesoporous Chitosan Nanofibril Assemblies
Author(s) -
Nguyen ThanhDinh,
Peres Bernardo U.,
Carvalho Ricardo M.,
MacLachlan Mark J.
Publication year - 2016
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.201505032
Subject(s) - materials science , iridescence , self healing hydrogels , structural coloration , chitosan , mesoporous material , liquid crystal , membrane , photonic crystal , nanostructure , photonics , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , polymerization , methacrylate , polymer chemistry , composite material , polymer , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , optics , chemistry , physics , biology , genetics , engineering , catalysis
Iridescence in animals and plants often arises from structural coloration, which involves hierarchical organization of minerals and biopolymers over length scales of the visible spectrum, leading to diffraction of light. In this work, discarded crustacean shells that are not known for their structural colors are used to produce photonic nanostructures of large, freestanding chiral nematic mesoporous chitosan membranes with tunable iridescent color. Bioinspired by colorful nanostructures in nature, photonic hydrogels with Bouligand‐type organization are fabricated from the twisted mesoporous membranes, where the chitosan nanofibrils are a novel precursor for surface acetylation and are also a biotemplate for polymerizing methyl methacrylate. The colors of the hydrogels can be tailored by swelling as they show large volume changes in response to changes in solvent environment.