Flexible and Iridescent
Chiral Nematic Mesoporous
Organosilica Films
- Publication date
- 2012
- Publisher
Abstract
Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) has been used to template
ethylene-bridged
mesoporous organosilica films with long-range chirality and photonic
properties. The structural color of the organosilica films results
from their chiral nematic ordering, can be varied across the entire
visible spectrum, and responds to the presence of chemicals within
the mesopores. To synthesize these materials, acid hydrolysis was
used to remove the NCC template without disrupting the organosilica
framework. The resulting mesoporous organosilica films are much more
flexible than brittle mesoporous silica films templated by NCC. These
materials are the first of a novel family of chiral mesoporous organosilicas
with photonic properties