University of Luxembourg scientists develop color-changing elastomer fibers

LUXEMBOURG—Scientists at the University of Luxembourg have developed elastomeric fibers for clothing that can change visual appearance with the physical movement of the body.

Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer (CLCE) is a structurally colored polymer system capable of changing its color by mechanical deformation, the university said in an Oct. 17 news release.

The effect is achieved through the coupling of color of helically aligned liquid crystal molecules and the viscoelasticity of rubber, according to the research team led by professor Jan Lagerwall, Yong Geng and Rijeesh Kizhakidathazhath.

The CLCE fibers, the university said, can be easily sewn into the fabric, creating a mechanoresponsive material that can be used in a broad range of applications in the beauty and health industries.

The team, whose research was published in the Nature magazine, said they had developed "a simple and scalable method" to pull out fibers from CLCE precursor solution by adjusting the viscoelasticity of the solution.

The color of the fibers shift continuously and reversibly from red to blue upon stretching.

The team also demonstrated the robustness of the CLCE fibers in garments by subjecting them to repeated stretching, machine washing and abrasion.

"The fibers remain colorful and mechanoresponsive," the university said.

"Such robust and color-changing fibers open up numerous applications in wearable technology and other areas, benefiting from autonomous strain sensing or detection of critically strong deformations," it said.