Sensors with liquid crystals that change color. Free Technical Library News

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Sensors with liquid crystals that change color

14.07.2020

Scientists from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago (USA) have developed a thin polymer film filled with liquid crystal droplets that changes color when stretched or when the temperature changes. In the future, the film could be used for smart coatings, sensors, and even wearable electronics.

By creating a liquid crystal polymer that changes color, the researchers focused on the ability of the chameleon to change color. Depending on body temperature or mood, their nervous system causes skin tissue containing nanocrystals to expand or contract. So nanocrystals begin to reflect light in a different way - and the reptile's skin turns into a rainbow of colors.

The team used chiral liquid crystals, which have two mirror forms (like a right and left hand). There are twists, turns and a certain asymmetry in their structure, which give these crystals more interesting optical characteristics.

These crystals can also form so-called "blue phase crystals" which have the properties of both liquids and crystals and in some cases can transmit or reflect visible light better than liquid crystals themselves.

Such crystals can be stretched and deformed to produce a wide range of colors. But it is impossible to stretch or deform a liquid directly. Therefore, the authors of the work placed tiny drops of liquid crystal in a polymer film. So they discovered many more different phases - the molecular configurations of crystals - than previously known. These phases produce different colors depending on how the crystal film is stretched or deformed, or when it is heated or cooled.

Such a system can be used, for example, to measure the voltage in the wings of an aircraft or to recognize slight changes in room temperature. It is also possible to create a fabric with liquid crystals that changes color depending on our temperature or if, for example, we bend our elbow.

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