A聽simple, cheap, and highly effective approach to achieve large tuning range of optical transmittance through harnessing surface wrinkling鈥揷racking patterns on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films. The surface wrinkling鈥揷racking patterns are induced by stretching ultraviolet/ozone-treated PDMS films and can effectively scatter the light transmitted through the films. With moderate 50% uniaxial tensile strain, the optical transmittance can be tuned between 92 and 9.2%. The films can be reversibly tuned between transparent and opaque for 1000 cycles without losing structural integrity and optical performance, with promising application in smart windows. By patterning the surface wrinkling鈥揷racking patterns, an elastomeric switchable display is also demonstrated, which can be turned 鈥淥N鈥� and 鈥淥FF鈥� by mechanical strain. This study can find applications in various optical devices and systems that require tunable optical properties.
References:
Zhengwei Li, Yao Zhai, Yu Wang, Griffith Wendland, Xiaobo Yin, and Jianliang Xiao. 鈥�,鈥� Advanced Optical Materials (2017).