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Thermochromic Ion-Exchange Micelles Containing H+ Chromoionophores
journal contribution
posted on 2017-05-24, 00:00 authored by Xinfeng Du, Changyou Zhu, Xiaojiang XieThermochromic
composites constitute a classical subfamily of stimuli
responsive materials. We report here the thermochromic effect in Pluronic
F-127 (F127) micelles containing hydrophobic ion-exchanger and H+ chromoionophores. The highly versatile and reversible thermochromism
is attributed to the temperature-induced hydration–dehydration
of the peripheral layer of the micelles, which in turn controls the
ion-exchange process between the core and the periphery of the micelles.
The color typically changes abruptly within 3–5 °C, and
the color transition temperature can be tuned within 5–25 °C
upon varying the F127 concentrations. This work lays the foundation
of a new variety of thermochromic materials involving ion-exchange.