Chanho Park

Printable and Rewritable Full Block Copolymer Structural Color

Structural colors (SCs) of photonic crystals (PCs) arise from selective constructive interference of incident light. Here, an ink-jet printable and rewritable block copolymer (BCP) SC display is demonstrated, which can be quickly written and erased over 50 times with resolution nearly equivalent to that obtained with a commercial office ink-jet printer. Moreover, the writing process employs an easily modified printer for position- and concentration-controlled deposition of a single, colorless, water-based ink containing a reversible crosslinking agent, ammonium persulfate. Deposition of the ink onto a self-assembled BCP PC film comprising a 1D stack of alternating layers enables differential swelling of the written BCP film and produces a full-colored SC display of characters and images. Furthermore, the information can be readily erased and the system can be reset by application of hydrogen bromide. Subsequently, new information can be rewritten, resulting in a chemically rewritable BCP SC display.

Effect of the relative permittivity of oxides on the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators

Since the working mechanism of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is based on triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, it is necessary to understand the effects of the inherent properties of dielectric materials on the performance of TENGs. In this study, the relationship between the relative permittivity and the performance of TENGs was demonstrated by fabricating TENGs using both pure oxide materials (SiO2, Al2O3, HfO2, Ta2O5 and TiO2) and oxide–PMMA composites. As oxide materials and PMMA are triboelectrically positive, PTFE film was selected as the counter tribo-material, which has highly negative triboelectric polarity. The triboelectric series of the above-mentioned oxides was experimentally organized to clarify the major parameter for the performance of TENGs. The electrical data values for both oxides and composites clearly showed a tendency to increase as the relative permittivity of the tribo-material increased. It is also well-matched with the theoretical analysis between the electrical performances (e.g. open-circuit voltage) and relative permittivity. However, such a tendency is not observed with the triboelectric polarity. Due to the tribo-material’s high relative permittivity, an open-circuit voltage of 124.1 V, a short-circuit current of 14.88 μA and a power of 392.08 μW were obtained in a pure TiO2 thin film.

Epitaxially Grown Ferroelectric PVDF-TrFE Film on Shape-Tailored Semiconducting Rubrene Single Crystal

Epitaxial crystallization of thin poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) films is important for the full utilization of their ferroelectric properties. Epitaxy can offer a route for maximizing the degree of crystallinity with the effective orientation of the crystals with respect to the electric field. Despite various approaches for the epitaxial control of the crystalline structure of PVDF-TrFE, its epitaxy on a semiconductor is yet to be accomplished. Herein, the epitaxial growth of PVDF-TrFE crystals on a single-crystalline organic semiconductor rubrene grown via physical vapor deposition is presented. The epitaxy results in polymer crystals globally ordered with specific crystal orientations dictated by the epitaxial relation between the polymer and rubrene crystal. The lattice matching between the c-axis of PVDF-TrFE crystals and the (210) plane of orthorhombic rubrene crystals develops two degenerate crystal orientations of the PVDF-TrFE crystalline lamellae aligned nearly perpendicular to each other. Thin PVDF-TrFE films with epitaxially grown crystals are incorporated into metal/ferroelectric polymer/metal and metal/ferroelectric polymer/semiconductor/metal capacitors, which exhibit excellent nonvolatile polarization and capacitance behavior, respectively. Furthermore, combined with a printing technique for micropatterning rubrene single crystals, the epitaxy of a PVDF-TrFE film is formed selectively on the patterned rubrene with characteristic epitaxial crystal orientation over a large area.

Block copolymer structural color strain sensor

AbstractThe development of electrically responsive sensors based on the capacitance, voltage, and resistance that can detect and simultaneou sly visualize the large strain involved with human motion is in great demand. Here, we demonstrate a highly stretchable, large strain capacitive sensor that can visualize strain based on the strain-responsive structural color (SC). Our device contains an elastomeric sensing film that produces a capacitance change under strain, in which a self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) photonic crystal (PC) film with 1D periodic in-plane lamellae aligned parallel to the film surface is embedded for the efficient visualization of strain. The capacitance change arises from changes in the dimensions of the elastomer film under strain. The mechanochromic BCP PC film responds to strain, giving rise to an SC change with strain. The initial red SC of the sensor blueshifts and turns blue when the sensor is stretched to 100%, resulting in a full-color SC alteration as a function of the strain. Our BCP SC strain sensor exhibits a fast strain response with multi-cycle reliability of both the capacitance and SC changes over 1000 cycles. This property allows for efficient visible recognition not only of the strained positions during finger bending and poking with a sharp object but also of the shapes of the strained objects.Sensors: Getting the blues under strainA strain sensor that changes color when stretched has been developed by a team in Korea. Flexible sensors that measure pressure or strain could find application as wearable health monitors. One route to achieve such sensors is to use dielectric films whose capacitance changes in response to mechanical stimulus. However, an easy way is needed for wearers to read the output. Cheolmin Park from Yonsei University and colleagues constructed a polymer-based material with a periodic structure that reflects light of different colors depending on the degree to which it is extended. Specifically, they created a block copolymer soft-solid film with one-dimensional periodic layers. The capacitance changes under strain as a result of the dimensional change of the elastomer film, causing the initially red sensor to turn blue when fully stretched.A novel block copolymer structural color strain sensor was developed, capable of electrically sensing a strain in capacitance change with simultaneous visualization of the strain. A thin mechanochromic bilayer of a block copolymer structural film with 1-D periodic lamellae placed on an ionic gel layer allowed for direct visualization of strain while sensing in capacitance when embedded in an elastomeric dielectric medium. Our block copolymer structural strain sensor was suitable for a reflective mode electronic skin which readily recognized human motion of the finger, elbow, and knee.

Surface functionalized nanostructures: Via position registered supramolecular polymer assembly

Versatile control of cylindrical nanostructures formed by supramolecular assembly of end-functionalized polymer blends is demonstrated not only in their orientation over large areas but also in their surface chemical functionalities. Two binary blends consisting of supramolecular analogues of diblock copolymers with complementary end-sulfonated and aminated groups are investigated, viz., mono-end-functionalized polymers of (i) one-end-sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) and one-end-aminated poly(butadiene) (APBD) and (ii) one end-aminated polystyrene (APS) and one end-sulfonated poly(butadiene) (SPBD). The orientation of the cylinders with respect to the substrate surface depends on the solvent annealing time; either hexagonally ordered vertical cylinders or in-plane ones are readily obtained by controlling the solvent annealing time. Selective chemical etching of one of the polymers provides four different chemically modified nanostructures, viz., hexagonally ordered cylindrical holes and cylindrical posts with either sulfonate or amine surface functional groups. Additional supramolecular assembly is successfully achieved by solution coating either polymers or organic dyes that complementarily interact with the functional groups on the nanostructures. Furthermore, the supramolecularly assembled nanostructures are controlled by confining them to topographically pre-patterned Si substrates with pattern geometries of various shapes and sizes to produce globally ordered vertical or in-plane cylinders with chemical functionalities on their surfaces.