Camouflage has a new friend...Color-changing Polymer!

What's new?

Chinese chemists have designed an organic polymer that is green in the reduced state but oxidises and turns a sandy-brown when a low voltage is applied. The change is reversible, and the polymer maintains its activity after 1000 repetitions.

Properties of the polymer
The alkoxy side chains of our polymer play an important role fine tuning the colors. The polymer takes 1–1.5 seconds to change colour and maintains its activity after 1000 repetitions. The polymer also absorbs IR radiation, so could conceal body heat too, and it is super-hydrophobic so would not wash out of clothing.

Application ----> Clothing

The team used conductive fabric as an electrode to confirm the polymers application in clothing. To make it, they sprayed the conductive fabric with a mixture of the polymer and toluene.

Estimation

The industrial interest in such products could be relatively high, and not just restricted to the military sector.

The structure of the polymer's sidechain influence the material's colour

References: compoundchem.com ~ rsc.org/chemistryworld

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