Light-printable epoxy oligomer wrinkle-forming surface for rewritable information storage. Issue 6 (21st January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Lin; Azhar, Umair; Chen, Zizhao; Niu, Qingxia; Chen, Jian; Zhao, Xiaohan; Zhang, Shuxiang; Zong, Chuanyong
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 10:Issue 6(2020)
• Page Start: 3416
• Page End: 3423
• Publication Date: 2020-01-21
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c9ra10569g
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : A novel rapidly responsive media for rewritable information storage comprised of an azobenzene-containing epoxy-based oligomer displaying surface wrinkling was developed. Abstract : Smart surfaces with controlled topography show broad and fantastic applications in optics, biology and information science. Herein, we report a simple visible-light-illumination approach to fabricate a smart wrinkle-forming surface with photo-controllable hierarchical surface patterns as well as rewritable high-resolution patterns of information by using an azobenzene-containing epoxy-based oligomer. The epoxy oligomer was synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization of bisphenol AF diglycidyl ether (BADFGE) with p -aminoazobenzene (AAB) and characterized using FTIR, 1 H NMR and 19 F NMR spectroscopies. When the epoxy oligomer film was deposited on an elastic substrate, the formation of surface wrinkles was triggered via a circulation of heating/cooling and photo-tailored due to photo-softening together with the release of stress induced by cycles of photoisomerization of azobenzene in the oligomer. The wrinkles in selectively light-exposed regions could be photo-erased within tens of seconds, yielding a different pattern of information. The high-resolution photo-printed images were shown to be rewritable for multiple cycles and legible for over 3 months in dark ambient conditions. The as-formed epoxy oligomer wrinkle-forming surface was found to be inexpensive and its fabrication was easily amenable to scale up, indicating its great potential as ink-free light printable media for rewritable information storage.