Full-Color Natural Rubber Latex with Photonic Nano Structure Composite

As the environmental problems increase, there is an urgent demand for new eco-friendly materials. Natural rubber latex (NRL) is a natural material extracted from rubber trees. But its dyeing process by chemical dyes might result in the contamination and environmental degradation. Here, the NRL is composited with photonic crystal (PhC) structure by spin coating method for the first time. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) photonic nano structure has been embedded into NRL to give it colors and provide it with optical functionalities. Colors of the composite could be designed and controlled by the sizes of nano colloidals from 180nm to 295nm. The colors have strong stability under a series of external stretching. The 3D natural rubber latex photonic crystal (NRLPC) is used as a responsive material to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including formaldehyde, acetone, toluene, xylene and styrene. With the visual color appearance, biocompatibility and flexibility, the NRLPC has the promising potential in various sensing applications.