The adaptive control of sunlight through photochromic smart windows could have a huge impact on the energy efficiency and daylight comfort in buildings. However, the fabrication of inorganic nanoparticle and polymer composite photochromic films with a high contrast ratio and high transparency/low haze remains a challenge. Here, a solution method is presented for the in situ growth of copper-doped tungsten trioxide nanoparticles in polymethyl methacrylate, which allows a low-cost preparation of photochromic films with a high luminous transparency (luminous transmittance T_lum = 91%) and scalability (30 × 350 cm²). High modulation of visible light (ΔT_lum = 73%) and solar heat (modulation of solar transmittance ΔT_sol = 73%, modulation of solar heat gain coefficient ΔSHGC = 0.5) of the film improves the indoor daylight comfort and energy efficiency. Simulation results show that low-e windows with the photochromic film applied can greatly enhance the energy efficiency and daylight comfort. This photochromic film presents an attractive strategy for achieving more energy-efficient buildings and carbon neutrality to combat global climate change.

Cholesteric liquid crystal oligomers are widely researched for their interesting thermochromic properties. However, structure-property relationships to program the thermochromic properties of these oligomers have been rarely reported. In this work, we use the versatile thiol-ene click reaction to synthesize a series of hetero-oligomers and study the impact of different compositions on the thermochromic behavior of the resulting material. Characterization of the oligomers shows significantly different rates of reaction for the monomers despite their very similar structures, which leads to oligomer compositions that do not match the original reaction feed. The oligomers are then used to produce thin near-infrared reflecting coatings. The best-performing thermochromic reflector has a room-temperature reflection band that shifts a total of 510 nanometers upon heating to 120 °C. The shift is repeatable for up to 10 times with no appreciable degradation. The room temperature reflection of the coatings is shown to be tunable not only by adjusting the chiral dopant concentration but also by the ratio of the monomers. Finally, we show that the oligomers can be chemically modified by making their reactive end groups undergo a reaction with monothiol compounds. These modifications allow for further fine-tuning of liquid crystal oligomers for heat-regulating window films, for example.

Both temperature-responsive and patterned photonic coatings are receiving a lot of attention from a fundamental and application point of view. However, the fabrication of multicolor patterns, which are also temperature-responsive, remains challenging. The current work presents a thermochromic photonic coating with light polarization-dependent multiple structural colors from a polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal siloxane oligomer. It is found that the structural color and the temperature response can be manipulated by varying the polymerization temperature, allowing the fabrication of thermochromic multicolor patterns. During heating, each color starts shifting at a different temperature until the sample is entirely blue at a high temperature. Upon cooling, the multicolor pattern returns, showing that the thermochromic response is reversible. On top of that, linearly polarized light dependency is also obtained, showing different reflection colors when varying the incident light polarization angles. A multicolor, thermochromic photonic coating with light polarization- and structural color-dependent features is fabricated for demonstration.

'Smart' windows which reversibly increase their reflectivity upon heating are attracting considerable attention as devices for maintaining comfortable indoor environmental conditions. In this work, twisted nematic semi-interpenetrating liquid crystal networks which lose their order upon heating are sandwiched between reflective linear polarizers. This 'smart' window reversibly decreases its transmission from about 50–10% over a wavelength range between 400 and 1100 nm upon heating, resulting in the window becoming darker and reflecting more light. This 'smart' window is potentially interesting for energy saving window applications where variation between privacy and visible light transparency states is required.

The fabrication of reversible and robust thermochromic coatings remains challenging. In this work, a temperature-responsive photonic coating with a protective topcoat is fabricated. A cholesteric oligosiloxane liquid crystal possessing a smectic-to-cholesteric phase-transition temperature response is synthesized. A planar alignment of its cholesteric phase is possible with blade coating. By stabilizing with 3 wt % of a crosslinked liquid crystal network, the photonic coating shows a color change ranging from red to blue upon heating. High transparency is retained, and the structural color changes are fully reversible. A transparent polysiloxane layer can be directly applied on top of the cholesteric layer to protect it against damage without affecting its optical properties. This approach satisfies the basic requirements of thermochromic polymer coatings, as it combines easy processability, coating robustness, and a reversible temperature response.

A new principle is developed to fabricate temperature-responsive, multicolor photonic coatings that are capable of switching color. The coating is composed of a non-cross-linked liquid crystal siloxane-based elastomer that is interpenetrated through an acrylate-based liquid crystal network. Discrete temperature changes induce phase separation and mixing between the siloxane and the acrylate polymers and change the reflective colors correspondingly. The temperature-responsive color change of the coatings can be programmed by the processing conditions and coating formulation, which allows for the fabrication of photopatterned multicolor images. The photonic ink can be coated on flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) films using roll-to-roll flexographic printing, making these temperature-responsive, multicolor-changing polymers appealing for applications such as responsive color decors, optical sensors, and anticounterfeit labels.

A temperature-responsive polarization converter, which reversibly changes from a full-wave to a half-wave plate upon heating, is developed. The polymer wave plate has a controlled thickness and is based on a uniaxial aligned nematic semi-interpenetrating network coating containing a specific concentration of a non-crosslinked liquid crystal elastomer. Upon heating, the effective birefringence of the wave plate halves without changing the thickness. The function of the wave plate is demonstrated by sandwiching the tunable polarization converter between two identical right-handed circular polarized light reflective films with a wavelength around 770 nm. At low temperatures, this optical device reflects 50% of light at 770 nm, whereas at elevated temperature 81% is reflected. Such temperature-responsive optical devices have potential applications for both aesthetic purposes as well as energy saving windows.

Stimulus-responsive photonic polymer materials that change their reflection colour as function of environmental stimuli such as temperature, humidity and light, are attractive for various applications (e.g. sensors, smart windows and communication). Polymers provide low density, tunable and patternable materials. This feature article focusses on various autonomously responding photonic polymer materials such as hydrogels, block copolymers and liquid crystals and discusses their potential industrial implementation.

The integration of untethered, multi-stimuli responsive actuation into soft microrobotic devices is a goal in the development of “smart” materials. This manuscript reports on a dual-stimuli responsive bilayer actuator consisting of a light responsive liquid crystal network (LCN) and a magnetic responsive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite. This design is of facile fabrication with ample design freedom, using no additional adhesion layers. Untethered control of the bilayer permits motions including bending and rotation, steered individually or in synchronization. Through a systematic study the direct impact of the PDMS layer was elucidated on the light triggered rate of actuation and maximum deformation amplitude of the LCN film. The alignment (homeotropic or planar) of the LCN has a profound effect on the resulting bilayer actuation. It is demonstrated, both experimentally and theoretically, that the rates of sample heating and actuation are directly correlated and highlight the critical role of the PDMS as a heat sink. The maximum amplitude of displacement of the bilayer is tied to the stiffness, being inversely correlated to the PDMS thickness to the third power. These results give insights and provide straightforward design rules to fabricate bilayer actuators with programmed multi-responsive properties.

A crosslinkable cholesteric main-chain liquid crystal oligomer was prepared, and coated on glass using blade-coating. The coating showed a reflection band that varied as a function of temperature over a range of several hundreds of nanometers. This allowed patterning of the coating in various colours using multiple crosslinking steps at different temperatures.

The fabrication of stimulus-responsive coatings that change both reflectivity and topography is hampered by the lack of easy processable, patternable, and programmable elastomers. Here, an easily applied reflective coating based on a semi-interpenetrating polymer network composed of a liquid crystal elastomer and a liquid crystal network (>15 wt%) is reported. The reflective wavelength of these polysiloxane elastomer photonic coatings can be readily programed by the concentration of chiral reactive mesogen dopant that forms the network. The coatings show a fast and reversible decrease in reflection band intensity with increasing temperature, which can be tuned by the polymer network density. In addition, hierarchical surface relief structures are prepared, which can be reversibly changed with temperature.

A temperature-responsive near-infrared reflective coating was fabricated based on a side-chain liquid crystal siloxane polymer using a simple wired-bar method. The cholesteric liquid crystalline polymer film showed a blue shift of the reflection band of 1000 nm in the IR region upon heating. The temperature-responsive change of the reflection band was reversible. Compared to that of the same mixture system in an alignment cell, the coating showed a significantly faster response. This research demonstrates an easy way to prepare a temperature-responsive IR-reflective coating that shifts its reflection to a shorter wavelength upon heating. As IR radiation of shorter wavelengths is more strongly represented in sunlight than longer wavelengths, this coating could be used to selectively reduce heating of an indoor space when the temperature is high. This is promising for the future application of smart climate control.