Inkjet printing colorimetric controllable and reversible poly-PCDA/ZnO composites

Water-based 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA)/ZnO nanocomposites with different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles (0, 5, 10 and 15 wt%) have been successfully inkjet printed. The inkjet printing fabricated poly-PCDA/ZnO composites show reversible and stable chromatic properties at corresponding thermochromic transition temperatures. Attentuated Total Reflection (ATR)-Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) results suggest that the chelation between head groups on neighboring side chains of polymer and ZnO facilitates the release of stress on cooling from the red phase to rapidly form the blue phase. Moreover, by varying the concentration of ZnO, the chromatic properties of poly-PCDA/ZnO can be tailored to provide a simple way to apply poly-PCDA/ZnO for different thermal sensing applications.