Materials
scientists at Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) have created very thin color-changing films that may serve as part of
inexpensive sensors for food spoilage or security, multiband optical elements
in laser-driven systems and even as part of high-contrast displays.
The new
work led by Rice materials scientist Ned Thomas combines polymers into a
unique, self-assembled metamaterial that, when exposed to ions in a solution or
in the environment, changes color depending on the ions’ ability to infiltrate
the hydrophilic (water-loving) layers.
The
research was published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.