Encoding Complex Wettability Patterns in Chemically Functionalized 3D Photonic Crystals
Top Cited Papers
- 26 July 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Vol. 133 (32), 12430-12432
- https://doi.org/10.1021/ja2053013
Abstract
Much of modern technology—from data encryption to environmental sensors to templates for device fabrication—relies on encoding complex chemical information in a single material platform. Here we develop a technique for patterning multiple chemical functionalities throughout the inner surfaces of three-dimensional (3D) porous structures. Using a highly ordered 3D photonic crystal as a regionally functionalized porous carrier, we generate complex wettability patterns. Immersion of the sample in a particular fluid induces its localized infiltration and disappearance of the bright color in a unique spatial pattern dictated by the surface chemistry. We use this platform to illustrate multilevel message encryption, with selective decoding by specific solvents. Due to the highly symmetric geometry of inverse opal photonic crystals used as carriers, a remarkable selectivity of wetting is observed over a very broad range of fluids’ surface tensions. These properties, combined with the easily detectable optical response, suggest that such a system could also find use as a colorimetric indicator for liquids based on wettability.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Towards the Photonic Nose: A Novel Platform for Molecule and Bacteria IdentificationAdvanced Materials, 2009
- Infochemistry and infofuses for the chemical storage and transmission of coded informationProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- A Molecular Keypad Lock: A Photochemical Device Capable of Authorizing Password EntriesJournal of the American Chemical Society, 2006
- Patterning self-assembled monolayersProgress in Surface Science, 2004
- Self-Assembly at All ScalesScience, 2002
- Template-Assisted Self-Assembly: A Practical Route to Complex Aggregates of Monodispersed Colloids with Well-Defined Sizes, Shapes, and StructuresJournal of the American Chemical Society, 2001
- Cross-Reactive Chemical Sensor ArraysChemical Reviews, 2000
- Hiding messages in DNA microdotsNature, 1999
- Control of crystal nucleation by patterned self-assembled monolayersNature, 1999
- Array-Based Vapor Sensing Using Chemically Sensitive, Carbon Black−Polymer ResistorsChemistry of Materials, 1996