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Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 956-962.doi: 10.1007/s40242-026-6013-4

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Solvent-induced Programmable Morphing and Optical Readout in Janus Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Inverse Opal Films

QUAN Maohua1,2, LIU Junchao3, WANG Jingxia4   

  1. 1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China;
    2. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Materials Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China;
    3. School of Eco-environmental & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, 710048, P. R. China;
    4. CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
  • Received:2026-01-12 Accepted:2026-03-12 Published:2026-06-02
  • Contact: WANG Jingxia,E-mail:jingxiawang@mail.ipc.ac.cn E-mail:jingxiawang@mail.ipc.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 5237300, 22542020, 22581260173, 51873221, 52073292, 51673207, and 51373183).

Abstract: Solvent-responsive photonic films with programmable deformation are attractive for smart indicators and reconfigurable devices. Here, we present a Janus poly(vinylidene fluoride-cohexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) inverse opal film composed of a nanoporous upper layer and a dense lower layer, enabling directional bending, solvent-induced plastic deformation with residual-stress-driven reversible configuration change. Exposure to 1,2-dichloroethane induces asymmetric infiltration of the nanostructured pores, generating capillary pressure sufficient to plastically deform the porous layer and produce a characteristic two-step bending behavior. The bending amplitude and accompanying photonic bandgap shift (580–710 nm) are tunable through pore size, solvent volume, and application position. Mechanical and structural analyses support a capillarity-driven plastic deformation mechanism linking nanoscale architecture to macroscopic actuation. The resulting photonic Janus film offers a simple, visually interpretable platform for solvent-triggered shape morphing and exposure indication.

Key words: Shape-memory effect, 1,2-Dichloroethane actuator, Inverse opal, Triggering process, Plastic deformation