Polymer brush-based optical device with multiple responsivities

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(acrylic acid) (pNIPAm-co-AAc) polymer brushes were grown from Au-coated glass substrates via surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Subsequently, another thin Au layer was deposited on top of the brush to yield a sandwich structure, with the brush confined between the two Au layers. This structure was shown to exhibit excellent optical properties and shows a response to multiple external stimuli, such as pH, temperature and humidity. This novel device could be used for sensing, biosensing, drug delivery, or for other applications that require light manipulation and wavelength filtration.