TY - JOUR
T1 - Large deformations and fluorescence response of mechanochromic polyurethane sensors
AU - Cellini, Filippo
AU - Zhou, Liwei
AU - Khapli, Sachin
AU - Peterson, Sean D.
AU - Porfiri, Maurizio
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant no. CBET-1332204 . The authors also acknowledge support from the Office of Naval Research through Grant no. N00014-10-1-0988 , which has allowed the acquisition of equipment used in this study. The authors want to thank Dr. Avi Ulman and the Institute for Engineered Interfaces (IEI) at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering for granting access to the laboratories and Steven Osma for his help in the experiments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - A mechanochromic composite comprises an excimer-forming fluorescent dye dispersed in a compatible polymeric host. Upon large deformation of the polymeric structure, a shift of the fluorescence emission from the excimer band to the monomer band is observed, due to reorganization of dye aggregates. Mechanochromic elastomers can be tailored to produce a reversible optical response during cyclic deformation. Here, we study the optomechanical properties of mechanochromic elastomers undergoing large uniaxial and biaxial deformations. Through detailed experiments and constitutive modeling, we relate the optical response of the mechanochromic elastomer to the deformation of the polymer network. We confirm that optical response is largely reversible and is modulated by the initial dye concentration in the polymer. We adapt the classical Arruda-Boyce model to elucidate microstructural modifications of the polymer-dye blend. We propose a constitutive hypothesis for the optical behavior of the material, which relates variations of the emission spectrum to surface stretching. This knowledge can aid in the design of strain and stress sensors for applications in mechanics, biomechanics, and life sciences.
AB - A mechanochromic composite comprises an excimer-forming fluorescent dye dispersed in a compatible polymeric host. Upon large deformation of the polymeric structure, a shift of the fluorescence emission from the excimer band to the monomer band is observed, due to reorganization of dye aggregates. Mechanochromic elastomers can be tailored to produce a reversible optical response during cyclic deformation. Here, we study the optomechanical properties of mechanochromic elastomers undergoing large uniaxial and biaxial deformations. Through detailed experiments and constitutive modeling, we relate the optical response of the mechanochromic elastomer to the deformation of the polymer network. We confirm that optical response is largely reversible and is modulated by the initial dye concentration in the polymer. We adapt the classical Arruda-Boyce model to elucidate microstructural modifications of the polymer-dye blend. We propose a constitutive hypothesis for the optical behavior of the material, which relates variations of the emission spectrum to surface stretching. This knowledge can aid in the design of strain and stress sensors for applications in mechanics, biomechanics, and life sciences.
KW - Fluorescent material
KW - Mechanochromism
KW - Polyurethane elastomers
KW - Sensors
KW - Stress relaxation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.mechmat.2015.10.013
DO - 10.1016/j.mechmat.2015.10.013
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84959544803
SN - 0167-6636
VL - 93
SP - 145
EP - 162
JO - Mechanics of Materials
JF - Mechanics of Materials
ER -