Dyes that have interesting optical properties such as fluorescence, long wavelength absorption and emission are promising for wide range of applications. Combining dyes with structural photonic molecules can open a new world of tunable optical hybrid materials. We synthesize molecularly designed monomers containing a mechanochromic dye molecule to strategically design copolymers with liquid crystalline comonomers. These polymers have two different architectures mainly A) side chain type structure and B) interchain crosslinked type structure. Investigating the molecular, thermal, morphological and optical results of these two types of framework encourage us to explore striking features of them by the addition of different length alkyl spacers in their respective monomeric structures. The results show some unique synergistic effects between liquid crystalline assembly (N* phase) and dye molecules. With the help of inter-chain crosslinking, a multifunctional elastomeric platform with tunable optical emission enabling mechanochromic response can be envisioned. We study a multi-responsive behavior of these novel materials in two different polymeric topologies to develop a modular platform for photonic applications that can also be used in applications such as damage sensing, sensors that respond to pressure changes (piezochromic), crack detection or mechanical system failure.

Designing dye incorporated polymeric architectures for stimuli-responsive function

2019 Fall National Meeting

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