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Photothermally Induced Optical Property Changes Of Poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) Microgel-Based Etalons, Molla R. Islam, Jessica Irvine, Michael J. Serpe

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgel-based optical devices were designed such that they can be stimulated to change their optical properties in response to light produced by a light-emitting diode (LED). The devices were fabricated by sandwiching the synthesized microgels between two Cr/Au layers all supported on a glass coverslip with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) deposited. Here, we found that these devices can be stimulated to change their optical properties when exposed to green LED light, which excites the AuNPs and increases the local temperature, causing the thermoresponsive microgels to decrease in diameter, resulting in a change in the devices’ optical properties. We also found …