Block Copolymer Photonic Gel for Mechanochromic Sensing

A mechanochromic sensor based on a block copolymer photonic gel is presented. This material provides a simple yet quantitative means to measure the local stress of an interface via a color change by making advantageous use of the photonic band gap properties and mechanical compliance of a one-dimensional periodic microstructure of a hydrophobic block-hydrophilic polyelectrolyte block copolymer gel. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.