Fluoride ions detection in aqueous media by unprecedented ring opening of fluorescein dye: A novel multimodal sensor for fluoride ions and its utilization in live cell imaging.

Imidazole functionalized on fluorescein dye was developed as an efficient probe for naked eye and fluorescence determination of fluoride ions. The probe is dramatic color change and very exciting fluorescence turn-on response with the addition fluoride ions. Moreover, fluoride ions triggering leads to the fissure of the spirolactam ring that causes drastic color makes feasible for the naked eye detection of fluoride ions. The mode of binding of fluoride with the probe was proved by 1H NMR titration experiments and the observed photophysical changes were rationalized by use of DFT calculations. This sensor was more applied to detect fluoride ions in real samples and imaging of fluoride ions through fluorescence imaging in living cells.

Preparation of transmittance-switchable composites from a coexistent system of polymer-dispersed and polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals.

Polymer-dispersed and polymer-stabilized liquid crystals (PD&PSLCs) are the coexistent systems of PDLCs and PSLCs, in which a mesogenic polymer network forms in the LC droplets to construct the PSLC system and the combination of the LC domains and the isotropic polymer matrix makes up the PDLC system. In this work, a PD&PS cholesteric LC (PD&PSCLC) system, where the isotropic polymer walls make up the PDCLC microstructure and the liquid crystalline polymer network in the CLC droplets constructs the PSCLC system, is fabricated successfully. The CLCs are composed of a negative dielectric anisotropy nematic LC and a chiral dopant. Owing to the stabilizing effect of the liquid crystalline polymer network, the planar texture of the CLCs can be retained after the preparation process, and the PD&PSCLC sample is in a large-transmittance state. The action of a low-frequency electric field induces the disordered texture of the CLCs and the light-scattering (low-transmittance) state because of the electro-hydrodynamic effect and dynamic scattering effects. After the removal of the low-frequency electric field, the stabilizing effect of the liquid crystalline polymer network induces the CLC molecules to return to the homogeneous orientation state, and the sample also re-obtains the large transmittance. This work may provide a facile approach to fabricating polymer/CLC composites with switchable transmittance for reverse-mode smart windows.