Release Time:2019-03-13  Hits:

Indexed by: Journal Article

Date of Publication: 2016-05-01

Journal: MOLECULES

Included Journals: PubMed、SCIE

Volume: 21

Issue: 5

ISSN: 1420-3049

Key Words: carbon nanotube; hydrophilic modification; structural color; color visibility; mechanical strength

Abstract: Low color visibility and poor mechanical strength of polystyrene (PS) photonic crystal films have been the main shortcomings for the potential applications in paints or displays. This paper presents a simple method to fabricate PS/MWCNTs (multi-walled carbon nanotubes) composite photonic crystal films with enhanced color visibility and mechanical strength. First, MWCNTs was modified through radical addition reaction by aniline 2,5-double sulfonic acid diazonium salt to generate hydrophilic surface and good water dispersity. Then the MWCNTs dispersion was blended with PS emulsion to form homogeneous PS/MWCNTs emulsion mixtures and fabricate composite films through thermal-assisted method. The obtained films exhibit high color visibility under natural light and improved mechanical strength owing to the light-adsorption property and crosslinking effect of MWCNTs. The utilization of MWCNTs in improving the properties of photonic crystals is significant for various applications, such as in paints and displays.