2D Functional Minerals as Sustainable Materials for Magneto-Optics

Liquid crystal devices using organic molecules are nowadays widely used to modulate transmitted light, but this technology still suffers from relatively weak response, high cost, toxicity and environmental concerns, and cannot fully meet the demand of future sustainable society. Here, an alternative approach to color-tunable optical devices, which is based on sustainable inorganic liquid crystals derived from 2D mineral materials abundant in nature, is described. The prototypical 2D mineral of vermiculite is massively produced by a green method, possessing size-to-thickness aspect ratios of >10³ , in-plane magnetization of >10 emu g^-1 , and an optical bandgap of >3 eV. These characteristics endow 2D vermiculite with sensitive magneto-birefringence response, been several orders of magnitude larger than organic counterparts, as well as capability of broad-spectrum modulation. The finding consequently permits the fabrication of various magnetochromic or mechanochromic devices with low or even zero-energy consumption during operation. This work creates opportunities for the application of sustainable materials in advanced optics.