Mechanochromic photonic polymers, which can change structural color upon mechanical deformation, are promising for many applications including strain/stress sensors and security features. Here, a patterned poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer (CLCE) photonic mechanochromic bilayer film for reversible image reveal is reported, in which the PDMS component determines the mechanical properties and the CLCE determines the mechanochromic properties. The structural color pattern is achieved by locally crosslinking the CLCE layer at different temperatures using a photomask and utilizing the temperature response of the cholesteric liquid crystal main‐chain oligomers. The resulting PDMS/CLCE bilayer is able to reversibly reveal the predesigned invisible pattern upon stretching, showing that this method can be used to convey more advanced information to a potential user than would be possible with a simple homogeneous color change. It is also demonstrated that the bilayer film can be used as a stimuli‐responsive sticker able to detect bending deformations.

中文翻译：

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图案化的机械变色光子聚合物可逆图像显示

机械变色光子聚合物可在机械变形时改变结构颜色，在包括应变/应力传感器和安全功能在内的许多应用中前景广阔。在此，报道了用于可逆图像显示的图案化的聚（二甲基硅氧烷）（PDMS）/胆甾型液晶弹性体（CLCE）光子机械变色双层膜，其中PDMS组分决定了机械性能，而CLCE决定了机械变色性能。通过使用光掩模在不同温度下使CLCE层局部交联并利用胆甾醇型液晶主链低聚物的温度响应来获得结构彩色图案。生成的PDMS / CLCE双层在拉伸时能够可逆地显示出预先设计的不可见图案，这表明与使用简单的均匀颜色更改相比，该方法可以将更多的高级信息传达给潜在用户。还证明了双层膜可用作能够检测弯曲变形的刺激响应性标签。