Optical
gas sensors based on chiral-nematic liquid crystals (N*
LCs) forming one-dimensional photonic crystals do not require electrical
energy and have a considerable potential to supplement established
types of sensors. A chiral-nematic phase with tunable selective reflection
is induced in a nematic host LC by adding reactive chiral dopants.
The selective chemical reaction between dopant and analyte is capable
to vary the pitch length (the lattice constant) of the soft, self-assembled,
one-dimensional photonic crystal. The progress of the ongoing chemical
reaction can be observed even by naked eye because the color of the
samples varies. In this work, we encapsulate the responsive N* LC
in microscale polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) fibers via coaxial electrospinning.
The sensor is, thus, given a solid form and has an improved stability
against nonavoidable environmental influences. The reaction behavior
of encapsulated and nonencapsulated N* LC toward a gaseous analyte
is compared, systematically. Making use of the encapsulation is an
important step to improve the applicability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.