A promising approach to the fabrication of materials with nanoscale features is the transfer of liquid-crystalline structure to polymers. However, this has not been achieved in systems with full three-dimensional periodicity. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of self-assembled three-dimensional nanostructures by polymer templating blue phase I, a chiral liquid crystal with cubic symmetry. Blue phase I was photopolymerized and the remaining liquid crystal removed to create a porous free-standing cast, which retains the chiral three-dimensional structure of the blue phase, yet contains no chiral additive molecules. The cast may in turn be used as a hard template for the fabrication of new materials. By refilling the cast with an achiral nematic liquid crystal, we created templated blue phases that have unprecedented thermal stability in the range -125 to 125 °C, and that act as both mirrorless lasers and switchable electro-optic devices. Blue-phase templated materials will facilitate advances in device architectures for photonics applications in particular.

Developing noninvasive and accurate diagnostics that are easily manufactured, robust, and reusable will provide monitoring of high-risk individuals in any clinical or point-of-care environment. We have developed a clinically relevant optical glucose nanosensor that can be reused at least 400 times without a compromise in accuracy. The use of a single 6 ns laser (λ = 532 nm, 200 mJ) pulse rapidly produced off-axis Bragg diffraction gratings consisting of ordered silver nanoparticles embedded within a phenylboronic acid-functionalized hydrogel. This sensor exhibited reversible large wavelength shifts and diffracted the spectrum of narrow-band light over the wavelength range λpeak ≈ 510-1100 nm. The experimental sensitivity of the sensor permits diagnosis of glucosuria in the urine samples of diabetic patients with an improved performance compared to commercial high-throughput urinalysis devices. The sensor response was achieved within 5 min, reset to baseline in ∼10 s. It is anticipated that this sensing platform will have implications for the development of reusable, equipment-free colorimetric point-of-care diagnostic devices for diabetes screening.

Liquid-crystalline polymers are materials of considerable scientific interest and technological value. An important subset of these materials exhibit rubber-like elasticity, combining the optical properties of liquid crystals with the mechanical properties of rubber. Moreover, they exhibit behaviour not seen in either type of material independently, and many of their properties depend crucially on the particular mesophase employed. Such stretchable liquid-crystalline polymers have previously been demonstrated in the nematic, chiral-nematic, and smectic mesophases. Here, we report the fabrication of a stretchable gel of blue phase I, which forms a self-assembled, three-dimensional photonic crystal that remains electro-optically switchable under a moderate applied voltage, and whose optical properties can be manipulated by an applied strain. We also find that, unlike its undistorted counterpart, a mechanically deformed blue phase exhibits a Pockels electro-optic effect, which sets out new theoretical challenges and possibilities for low-voltage electro-optic devices.

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The real-time sensing of metal ions at point of care requires integrated sensors with low energy and sample consumption, reversibility, and rapid recovery. Here, we report a photonic nanosensor that reversibly and quantitatively reports on variation in the concentrations of Pb(2+) and Cu(2+) ions in aqueous solutions (<500 μL) in the visible region of the spectrum (λ(max) ≈ 400-700 nm). A single 6 ns laser pulse (λ = 532 nm) was used to pattern an ∼10 μm thick photosensitive recording medium. This formed periodic AgBr nanocrystal (ø ∼ 5-20 nm) concentrated regions, which produced Bragg diffraction upon illumination with a white light source. The sensor functionalized with 8-hydroxyquinoline allowed sensing through inducing Donnan osmotic pressure and tuning its lattice spacing. The sensor quantitatively measured Pb(2+) and Cu(2+) ion concentrations within the dynamic range of 0.1-10.0 mM with limits of detection of 11.4 and 18.6 μM in under 10 min. The sensor could be reset in 3 min and was reused at least 100 times without compromising its accuracy. The plasmonic nanosensor represents a simple and label-free analytical platform with potential scalability for applications in medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.