Renewable Fluorescent Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Potential Use in Temperature Indicator During Short-time Vaccine Transportation

Abstract

With the rise in environmental awareness, the development of smart polymer materials is gradually becoming environmentally friendly and sustainable. Fluorescent liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) can change their shape or optical properties in response to external stimuli, showing great potential for applications in sensing, information storage, and encryption. However, their life cycle is often unsustainable and not in line with the circular economy model. Based on the principle of green chemistry, a fluorescent LCE was developed through the co-polymerization of multiple monomers with 1,2-dithiolane end groups, which exhibited excellent self-healing, reprocessing, and closed-loop recyclability. In addition, by tailoring the phase transition temperature of the LCE, the transparency and fluorescence intensity of the resulting material can change at a low temperature of 8.0 °C. By further integrating light or acid/base-triggered fluorescence information, a proof-of-concept for temperature monitoring during short-time vaccine transportation using the reusable fluorescent LCE film is demonstrated. This study establishes a new environmentally friendly manufacturing strategy for multifunctional LCE materials.