Thermochromic materials
- materials that changes color due to temperature change
-its exposure to ultraviolet radiation, solvents, and high temperatures affect their performance
-2 types: Liquid Crystals and Leucodyes
Properties Thermochromic Liquid Crystals (TLC)
Structure - composed of extended, rod-shaped and rigid
molecules
- molecular arrangement is not amorphous, crystalline,
semicrystalline or liquid but in Liquid Crystalline state
- molecules are aligned in highly ordered
configurations, whether in molten or solid states,
unlike other polymers that are randomly oriented
- molecules have characteristic intermolecular
spacings
- orientation is in nematic form
*nematic form - rod-shaped molecules are arranged
like matches in a box in which they can move around
and shuffle past one another but they still point in
broadly the same direction
Properties - interference occurs once light rays bounces on
material giving specific colors depending on the
spacing between the molecules
- intermolecular spacing depends on temperature
-color of light seen depends on intermolecular spacing
hence color of light then depends on temperature!
- generally stable and inert due to high intermolecular
interactions
- excellent thermal stability, stiff and strong, high
impact strengths, chemically inert, inherent flame
resistance
Performance - used in precision applications as their responses can
be engineered through accurate temperatures
- color range is limited by their principle of operation
- shifts color up and down the red-violet spectrum only
- cant use a wide variety of colors unlike leuco dyes
Processing - manufactured in the form of microscopic spheres
(capsules) embedded in a plastic (polymer)
- must first be microencapsulated into billions of tiny
capsules that are just a few microns in size. This
encapsulation process offers some protection for the
TLCs and maintains their thermochromic properties.
- All conventional processing techniques available for
thermoplastic materials may be used.
- Extremely low shrinkage and warpage take place
during molding.
- Exceptional dimensional repeatability from part to
part.
- Low melt viscosity, which permits molding of thin
sections and/or complex shapes.
- Low heats of fusion; this results in rapid melting and
subsequent cooling, which shortens molding cycle
times.
- Anisotropic finished-part properties: molecular
orientation effects are produced from melt flow during
molding.
Characterizatio - microscopes are used to observe and study the structure of these materials thereby, drawing conclusions on
n the thermochromic properties which they have.
Leucodyes
- colored, ionizing and aromatic organic compounds
- contains chromophores which imparts color in these
dyes
- contains 2 interchanging states depending on its
temperature
a) Leuco Form - colorless and transparent structure
of dye
b) Non-Leuco Form- colored structure of dye
- the leuco dye switches from one form to another
when light/heat energy is introduced
- heat causes the ring to open, the carbon hybridizes,
aligns the pi-orbitals of the aromatic with the
molecule, forming a conjugated system that absorbs
light
- certain kinds of leuco dyes can be toxic,
carcinogenic or mutagenic and can pose a hazard to
health because of the benzene rings found in its
structure
- poor resistance against radiation, high temperature,
and harsh solvents
- response temperatures are more difficult to set with
accuracy; cruder indicators of temperature, indicating
only 2 states (hot and cold)
- can be mixed in various ways to produce all kinds of
color-changing effects
- unlike TLCs, can easily be screen-printed and thus,
they are used in everyday novelty items like mugs,
inks, and shirts
- microencapsulated into tiny droplets that are only
about 3 to 5 microns in size, which prevents them
from reacting with or being damaged by other
chemicals
- the capsules contain a colorant/dye, an organic acid
and a solvent. The dye and the color developer which
is the acid are dissolved in a nonvolatile solvent, and
the ternary composition is encapsulated.
- microencapsulation of thermochromic dye systems
can be done by complex coacervation or by
interfacial/in situ polymerization
- spectroscopy techniques are also used to characterize thermochromism, since they are able to quantify
colour change accurately and study the factors that determine it