Dynamic Refractive Index-Matching for Adaptive Thermoresponsive Smart Windows.

Thermoresponsive smart windows (TRSWs) take great advantages in energy-efficient buildings and on-demand devices owing to their self-adaptiveness and external energy consumption-free nature. Currently used TRSWs largely rely on thermal-induced phase transitions in single-material systems, however, the intrinsic characteristics of which may not be suited for practical window utilization, such as poor luminous transparency and fixed critical temperature (Tc ). Herein, an adaptive TRSW based on dynamic refractive index (RI) matching between two phases is demonstrated, which is facilely fabricated by embedding ethylene glycol solution microdroplets into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via a one-step emulsification approach, realizing a smart temperature response in PDMS. The TRSW presents high transparency (≈92%) and bidirectional transparency-temperature response (≈20% at 73 °C, ≈40% at 8 °C). Moreover, the RI dispersion generates a unique effect of wavelength selectivity with temperature. Notably, the effective optical-temperature response with variable Tc could be tuned over a wide range of 13-68 °C by adjusting the EGS concentration. The proposed strategy with dynamic RI matching allows TRSW construction to extend beyond phase transitional materials and greatly broadens the applicable scope of TRSWs, which is promising in the fields of smart optical devices such as smart windows, anti-counterfeiting, optical switches, and optical selection.

Multi-responsive, flexible, and structurally colored film based on a 1D diffraction grating structure.

In nature, many organisms (e.g., chameleons) protect themselves by changing their colors in response to environmental changes. Inspired by these organisms, we present a multi-responsive, flexible, and structurally colored hydrogel film with a one-dimensional (1D) ordered periodic groove structure. The groove structure endows the film with bright, highly angle-dependent structural colors, which can be reversibly tuned by stretching and releasing. In addition, because of the thermosensitive properties of the hydrogel, the film can be switched between colored state and opaque white state with temperature. In addition, the optical state of the film is sensitive to solvent and can be reversibly changed between colored state and transparent state with soaking and evaporation of the solvent. This reversible, multi-responsive, flexible, and structurally colored hydrogel film has great potential to be used in the fields of color display, sensors, anti-counterfeiting, and so on because of its flexible and diverse tuning methods, excellent optical performance, and convenient preparation process.

Transmittance Tunable Smart Window Based on Magnetically Responsive 1D Nanochains.

Smart optical materials are drawing more and more attention because of their wide application in energy conservation, wearable sensors, optical tuning, and medical devices. However, current smart optical materials, including electroresponsive, thermoresponsive, and mechanoresponsive materials, are greatly restricted in practical applications because of their long response time, complicated preparation, and high cost. This study develops a novel, magnetically tunable, smart optical material with swift and high-contrast optical switching based on one-dimensional (1D) Fe3O4@SiO2 nanochains (NCs), which have the large shape anisotropy of the 1D structure and the superparamagnetic properties of Fe3O4 particles. The material exhibited a clear transparent state when NCs were arranged parallel to the viewing direction under an applied magnetic field, whereas it showed good shielding effect when the NCs were randomly oriented upon removal of the field. The light transmittance could be dynamically adjusted over the wide range of 20-80% through a small applied magnetic field of 50-100 Oe, which is superior to most of the currently reported systems. This swift, sensitive, and reversible response is attributed to the good responsivity of magnetic NCs. Also, an effective model was proposed to explain the transmittance modulation scheme and forecast its optical potential. The large tunable range and the low triggered field make Fe3O4@SiO2 NCs an advantageous candidate for application in smart windows, optical switchers, and other fields.

Acetylation of Microcrystalline Cellulose by Transesterification in AmimCl/DMSO Cosolvent System.

Recently, IL/cosolvent systems have generated a lot of interest as cellulose-dissolving solvents and reaction media for various kinds of cellulose modification. In the present study, both 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and AmimCl/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) systems were employed to synthesize cellulose acetate by transesterification. Microcrystalline cellulose, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene and isopropenyl acetate were chosen as the raw material, catalyst and acetylation reagent, respectively. The results revealed that DMSO was a suitable cosolvent for the transesterification in the homogeneous solution. Moreover, DMSO had a positive effect on the reaction as the cosolvent under the given conditions and the degree of the substitution of cellulose acetate could be significantly enhanced through increasing the molar ratio of DMSO. The synthesized products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, ¹H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR and 13C-NMR), correlation spectroscopy (COSY), heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to confirm the chemical and physical structure of the cellulose acetate generated. The thermal properties were also evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)/derivative thermogravimetry (DTG).

Preparation and characterization of cellulose laurate ester by catalyzed transesterification.

The preparation of cellulose laurate was investigated through transesterification in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) cosolvent system by using vinyl laurate as an acylation reagent and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) as an effective catalyst. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and the molar ratio of vinyl laurate to anhydride glucose unit (AGU) were investigated. The degree of substitution (DS) ranged from 1.47 to 2.74 under the selected conditions and the reaction order of three hydroxyl groups was C-6>C-3>C-2. The chemical structure cellulose laurate were explored by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to confirm the occurrence of transesterification. The improved thermal stability of cellulose laurate was proved by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The tensile analysis and the contact angle measurement confirmed the ductile behavior and the hydrophobicity of the films made from cellulose laurate.