Issue 10, 2020

Highly transparent photochromic films with a tunable and fast solution-like response

Abstract

The increasing interest towards photochromic films and their practical applications is driving researchers in the continuous design and synthesis of novel organic photochromic dyes with optimized performances in polymeric matrices. However, whereas their photochromic properties could be readily rationalized in organic liquid solutions, these could not be directly extrapolated to polymers as their performance changes unpredictably upon integration into a solid matrix. This leads to a time-consuming synthetic re-tuning of the dye chemical structure and/or the polymeric medium. To avoid this, herein we report an efficient, straightforward and universal strategy to embed commercial T-type organic photochromic dyes of different nature in a polymeric material without compromising their optimum solution absorption and isomerization kinetics. Our approach is based on trapping emulsified nanodroplets of a hydrophobic solution enclosing the dye into a hydrophilic polymeric matrix. The material is prepared through one single process using commercially available materials, without further modification of the components (the dye and the polymer matrix) nor requiring previous encapsulation steps. The films, which manifest true solution liquid-like and finely tunable photochromic behavior, are also highly transparent, recyclable, and scalable, and show enhanced fatigue resistance, making them highly suitable for different smart glass applications.

Graphical abstract: Highly transparent photochromic films with a tunable and fast solution-like response

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
01 Jul 2020
Accepted
14 Aug 2020
First published
14 Aug 2020

Mater. Horiz., 2020,7, 2749-2759

Highly transparent photochromic films with a tunable and fast solution-like response

H. Torres-Pierna, D. Ruiz-Molina and C. Roscini, Mater. Horiz., 2020, 7, 2749 DOI: 10.1039/D0MH01073A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements