Abstract 1628 Energy-Efficient Color Manipulation

Chromatophores, the light-manipulating optical filters that enable rapid camouflage and signaling in cephalopod skin, operate through the expansion and contraction of pigment-containing sacs, resulting in vivid color changes. Chromatophore-inspired materials have long relied on non-mechanical processes or demanded substantial power inputs if they are mechanically-driven. Drawing inspiration from biological systems, we have developed double network (DN) hydrogels that utilize mechanical changes to modulate optical properties, presenting a promising avenue for achieving energy-efficient color manipulation. These materials have a covalently crosslinked, rigid network intricately entwined with an ionically crosslinked, ductile network, mitigating the fragility observed in single network hydrogels, and can be embedded with color-changing molecular absorbers. These conformational changes, driven by pH variations due to the presence of pH-sensitive acrylic acid/acrylamide components, enable these DN gels to be mechanically compliant, allowing substantial and reversible mechanical actuation without breakage or dissolution. The biomimetic approach enables achieving energy-efficient and dynamically responsive bio-inspired color displays. I would like to express my gratitude to Northeastern's Project-Based Exploration for the Advancement of Knowledge (PEAK) award for funding this project.