Innovating functional colour changing photonic crystals - from gas sensors to tissue scaffolds

以原始石墨烯或其他2D相关纳米材料增强的结构彩色聚合物光子晶体，可以在外部刺激（如热或机械压力）下改变颜色，有望用于一系列新颖和新兴的传感应用。这些材料有可能扰乱几个市场部门，但在开发基础技术和由此产生的设备和产品的多学科商业应用方面仍需开展工作。未来领袖奖学金的工作计划将侧重于研究员从学术界到工业界的行政过渡，以及她领导的进一步多学科发展和随后的新型光子晶体器件的商业创新。具体目标是生产一种电离辐射剂量计，其有效原子序数与人体组织的原子序数相似，用于精确的组织等效剂量测定，一种在民用急救应用中暴露于有毒气体环境时颜色变化生动的传感装置，以及一种新型的体外组织模型，由导电光子晶体支架上的心脏细胞组成，以创造一种商业上可行的，功能性的，电刺激的，生理相关，心脏组织支架。这些措施的经济和社会影响将广泛感受到。例如，可以定量和定性地检测有毒气体存在的廉价和简单使用的设备可以挽救平民和对危险火灾情况作出反应的第一反应者的生命。用于仔细监测辐射的辐射剂量计将保护辐射工作人员和病人免受潜在的健康风险，并有助于提高健康和安全标准，而开发新的组织支架将使疫苗和药物的设计和测试更加容易，并大大减少动物的使用。

Structurally coloured polymer-based photonic crystals enhanced with pristine graphene or other 2D related nanomaterials that can change colour upon external stimuli such as heat or mechanical pressure are promising for a range of novel and emerging sensing applications. These materials have the potential to disrupt several market sectors, yet work is still needed in developing the base technology and multidisciplinary commercial application of the resulting devices and products. The programme of work within this Future Leaders Fellowship will focus on the executive transition of the fellow from academia to industry and her leading further multidisciplinary developments and the subsequent commercial innovation of novel photonic crystal devices. Particular aims are to produce an ionizing radiation dosimeter with an effective atomic number similar to that of human tissue for accurate tissue equivalent dosimetry, a sensing device which changes vividly in colour upon exposure to toxic gas environment in civilian first responder applications as well as a novel in vitro tissue model, consisting of heart cells on a conductive photonic crystal scaffold, to create a commercially viable, functional, electrically stimulated, physiologically relevant, heart tissue scaffold.The economic and social impact of these will be widely felt. For example cheap and simple to use devices that can quantitatively and qualitatively detect the presence of toxic gases can save the lives of civilians and first responders responding to hazardous fire situations. A radiation dosimeter for careful radiation monitoring will protect radiation workers and patients from potential health risks, and contribute to enhancement of the health and safety standards, while the development of novel tissue scaffolds will enable easier design and testing of vaccines and drugs and significantly reduce the use of animals.