The mechanoresponsive self-assembly of spiropyran doped films with dual sensitivity

Spiropyran as photo- and mechano- response material has attracted great attention for wide applications. However, there are few reports on the mechanoresponsive self-assembly of spiropyran with tunable morphologies. In this work, spiropyran doped PDMS films with mechanic and photo dual response are fabricated by novel biomimetic methods. Interestingly, the morphologies of these films can be transformed from smooth surface to small hole structures due to the self-assembly of spiropyran. Only mechanical forces can induce the morphological changes of the films accordingly the conversion of ring-closed spiropyran and ring-opened merocyanine. In addition, these films exhibit good photoresponsive properties: reversible changes of UV-Vis absorption, colour and wettability.