2024 journal article
Transparency-changing elastomers by controlling of the refractive index of liquid inclusions
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER, 36(42).
author keywords: optical metamaterials; liquid inclusions; stimuli-responsive soft matter
open access via doi.org (publisher)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 30, 2024
Complex materials that change their optical properties in response to changes in environmental conditions can find applications in displays, smart windows, and optical sensors. Here a class of biphasic composites with stimuli-adaptive optical transmittance is introduced. The biphasic composites comprise aqueous droplets (a mixture of water, glycerol, and surfactant) embedded in an elastomeric matrix. The biphasic composites are tuned to be optically transparent through a careful match of the refractive indices between the aqueous droplets and the elastomeric matrix. We demonstrate that stimuli (e.g., salinity and temperature change) can trigger variations in the optical transmittance of the biphasic composite. The introduction of such transparency-changing soft matter with liquid inclusions offers a novel approach to designing advanced optical devices, optical sensors, and metamaterials.