title: Reconfigurable photonic crystals enabled by pressure-responsive shape-memory polymers.
abstract: Smart shape-memory polymers can memorize and recover their permanent shape in response to an external stimulus (for example, heat). They have been extensively exploited for a wide spectrum of applications ranging from biomedical devices to aerospace morphing structures. However, most of the existing shape-memory polymers are thermoresponsive and their performance is hindered by heat-demanding programming and recovery steps. Although pressure is an easily adjustable process variable such as temperature, pressure-responsive shape-memory polymers are largely unexplored. Here we report a series of shape-memory polymers that enable unusual 'cold' programming and instantaneous shape recovery triggered by applying a contact pressure at ambient conditions. Moreover, the interdisciplinary integration of scientific principles drawn from two disparate fields--the fast-growing photonic crystal and shape-memory polymer technologies--enables fabrication of reconfigurable photonic crystals and simultaneously provides a simple and sensitive optical technique for investigating the intriguing shape-memory effects at nanoscale.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Sin-Yen
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: ITIA-CNR, Industrial Technologies and Automation Institute, National Council of Research, Via Bassini, 15, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Basile
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiang