Optical and topographic changes in water-responsive patterned cholesteric liquid crystalline polymer coatings

In this work, we present patterned water-responsive coatings, which alter both their topological and optical properties. The polymer coatings are based on a hydrogen-bonded cholesteric liquid crystalline polymer network. A two-step photopolymerization procedure leads to a patterned coating with repeating liquid crystalline and isotropic areas. The cholesteric liquid crystalline areas reflect green light, whilst the isotropic areas are transparent for visible light. Treatment with alkaline solution results in a hygroscopic polymer salt coating. When placed in demineralized water, the polymer films swells, leading to an enhancement of the surface topography structure in which the liquid crystalline areas swell more. Moreover, the pitch of the helical organization in the cholesteric areas increases due to this swelling leading to a color change from green to red.