Dyes that have interesting optical properties such as fluorescence, long wavelength absorption and emission are promising for wide range of applications. A mechanochromic dye molecule is used to molecularly design monomers leading to two different homopolymer architectures, A) side chain type structure and B) interchain crosslinked type structure. Comparing the molecular, thermal and optical results of the two homopolymer architectures encouraged us to explore unique features of these two polymers by the addition of different length alkyl spacer chains in their respective monomers. Sufficiently long spacers restrict the entanglement of dye molecules with the backbone and can reduce the processing temperatures of the films. The mechanochromic behavior of the dye molecule enables visible detection of change in color on crushing the crosslinked homopolymer. Significantly different mechanical response is observed on crushing the side chain type homopolymer which leads us to develop crosslinking strategies of this homopolymer that could alter the result. Therefore, a multifunctional platform with elastomeric, mechanically robust films with macroscopic mechanochromic response can be envisioned. We study the mechanochromic response of the dyes in two different polymeric topologies to develop a modular platform for possible applications in damage sensing, sensors that respond to pressure changes(piezochromic), crack detection or mechanical system failure.

Molecular engineering of mechanochromic dye incorporated homopolymers with two different architectures

256th National Meeting (2018)

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