Self-assembly of colloidal spheres and application as solvent responding polymer film

It is the first time to fabricate and apply responsive colloidal crystal (CC) films on biocomposite material – bamboo strand board (BSB). The responsive film can be easily prepared directly through the self-assembly of soft colloidal polymer spheres containing hydrophilic monomers at ambient pressure and temperature without complicate equipment. In this approach, soft colloidal polymer spheres are synthesized by emulsion polymerization using polymerizable emulsifier. Then, the polymer latex is loaded onto the surface of BSB. The colloidal polymer spheres can directly self-assemble into a robust and transparent colloidal crystal (CC) film on BSB. Neither soft matrix nor posttreatment is needed. Compared with the traditional responsive CC, the polymer film on BSB not only had sensitive response behaviors but also had good reversibility and mechanical strength, which would provide a new method for fabrication and application of responsive CC.

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► The polymer latex on BSB self-assembled into a solvatochrom-responsive film.
► Responsive polymer film on BSB has higher reflection contrast than other substrates.
► Polymer film on BSB had better responsive reversibility than other substrates.