Photonic Interpenetrating Polymer Network Fibers Comprising Intertwined Solid-State Cholesteric Liquid Crystal and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Development of advanced sensor technologies is crucial for various applications.
• Photonic materials offer unique optical properties for sensing.
• Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) provide robust material structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop uniform-sized photonic interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) fibers for sensor applications.
• To fabricate IPN fibers with a perfect photonic structure for enhanced performance.
• To demonstrate the potential of these fibers for detecting humidity, metal ions, and biomolecules.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of photonic IPN fibers using solid-state cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC_solid) intertwined with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) networks within Teflon tube templates.
• Utilizing the dominant wavelength of photonic color, captured via cellular phone, to measure color changes.
• Immobilization of urease or glucose oxidase onto the IPN fibers for biosensing applications.

Main Results:

• Photonic IPN_PAA fibers demonstrated humidity sensing in the linear range of 21-92% with an LOD of 7.86%.
• Detection of Ca²⁺ ions was achieved with a linear range of 0.5-3.5 mM and an LOD of 0.07 mM.
• Photonic IPN_PAA-urease and IPN_PDMAEMA-GOx fibers showed linear responses for urea (10-60 mM, LOD 2.54 mM) and glucose (2-16 mM, LOD 0.76 mM) detection, respectively.

Conclusions:

• The developed photonic IPN fibers are promising for sensor applications due to their ease of fabrication, miniaturization, and cost-effectiveness.
• These battery-free, visually detectable sensors offer new possibilities for wearable technology.
• The study highlights the potential of photonic IPN fibers for widespread adoption in advanced sensing.