在此祝贺闫鹤轩、罗巍和马会茹等撰写的研究论文“Heterogeneous thermochromic Hydrogel Film based on Photonic Nanochains”被期刊Nanomaterials（2021年影响因子IF：5.076）接收！
温敏光子晶体薄膜的大体积形变和快速响应特性在制动器、比色传感、颜色显示和伪装领域的应用具有重要意义。一般认为，减少热响应凝胶的尺寸和引入微孔是提高响应速度的有效方法。然而，牺牲凝胶成分往往导致凝胶力学性能变差，引起光学结构的不稳定。鉴于凝胶较慢的响应过程主要来自于凝胶在后期平衡阶段发生的微小变形，我们首次提出将温敏凝胶基体与高模量的非温敏光子纳米链结合，发展了一种异质结构的新型温敏光子晶体膜。温敏凝胶热刺激下体积的膨胀收缩力作为外力施加在光子纳米链上，从而引起光子纳米链晶体参数的改变和光子晶体膜颜色的相应变化。同时得益于光子纳米链较温敏基体更高的模量，光子纳米链先于基体达到稳定从而实现基体大膨胀比下的快速响应，如能在12s内完成对44℃热刺激的响应。此外，光子纳米链能显著提高温敏光子晶体膜在取向方向上的拉伸性能，赋予其优良的光学稳定性和耐久性。这种异质结构的温敏光子晶体膜在人工肌肉和快速响应驱动装置中有着重要的潜在应用前景。
原文摘要如下：Rapid and robust response to external stimulus with large volume deformation is of big importance for the practical application of thermo-responsive photonic crystal film (TRPCF) in actuator, colorimetric sensor, and other color-related fields. Generally, decreasing the size of thermo-responsive photonic crystals and introducing micropores are considered two effective approaches to improve their responsiveness. However, they usually result in poor mechanical property which leads to optical instability. To solve these problems, a heterogeneous thermo-responsive photonic crystal film is developed here by integrating thermosensitive hydrogel matrix poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide-co-N-Methylolacrylamide) (P(NIPAM-co-NHMA)) with high-modulus but non-thermosensitive poly(acrylic acid -co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (P(AA-co-HEMA)) hydrogel-based photonic nanochains (PNCs). The as-obtained TRPCF based on PNCs (TRPCF-PNC) well combines rapid response and improved mechanical property. Typically, it can complete response within 12 s from 26 to 44 oC accompanying with a larger deformation of matrix than that of PNCs. The unique rapid thermochromic mechanism of TRPCF-PNC is revealed here. Besides that, it exhibits high tensible property along PNCs orientation direction and excellent optical stability. The response time of TRPCF-PNC can conveniently modulate by changing cross-linking degree of PNCs or the content of thermosensitive component in matrix. The heterogeneous TRPCF-PNC is believed to have potential applications in artificial muscle and quick-response actuation devices.
