Optical technologies in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectrum (7-14 mm) offer important advantages for high-resolution thermal imaging in near or complete darkness. The use of polymeric transmissive materials for IR imaging offers numerous cost and processing advantages but suffers from inferior optical properties in the LWIR spectrum. A major challenge in the design of LWIR-transparent organic materials is that nearly all organic molecules absorb in this spectral windoww hichl ies within the so-called IR-fingerprint region. We report on an ew molecular-design approacht o prepare high refractive index polymers with enhanced LWIR transparency.Computational methods were used to accelerate the design of novel molecules and polymers.U sing this approach,w eh ave prepared chalcogenide hybrid inorganic/ organic polymers (CHIPs) with enhanced LWIR transparency and thermomechanical properties via inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur with new organic co-monomers.

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Optical technologies in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectrum (7-14 mm) offer important advantages for high-resolution thermal imaging in near or complete darkness. The use of polymeric transmissive materials for IR imaging offers numerous cost and processing advantages but suffers from inferior optical properties in the LWIR spectrum. A major challenge in the design of LWIR-transparent organic materials is that nearly all organic molecules absorb in this spectral windoww hichl ies within the so-called IR-fingerprint region. We report on an ew molecular-design approacht o prepare high refractive index polymers with enhanced LWIR transparency.Computational methods were used to accelerate the design of novel molecules and polymers.U sing this approach,w eh ave prepared chalcogenide hybrid inorganic/ organic polymers (CHIPs) with enhanced LWIR transparency and thermomechanical properties via inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur with new organic co-monomers.

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