In the paper, the researchers present a small library of tautomerizable azobenzenes exhibiting humidity-dependent thermal isomerisation rates in polymer thin films. They study the dependency of the sensing performance and the water absorption characteristics of the polymer matrix the azobenzenes are incorporated into and show that the azobenzene content profoundly influences both the hydrophilicity of the polymer system as well as the humidity dependence of the thermal isomerisation rate. Efforts in the realization of a working humidity sensing device and preparing it for commercialization are also highlighted in the publication. The paper “Strategies to control humidity sensitivity of azobenzene isomerisation kinetics in polymer thin films” has been published in the Communications Materials journal of Nature Publishing Group. The research was done in collaboration with Prof. Linder within the LIBER Centre of Excellence. Congratulations to all the authors for the nice work.
Our new paper about azobenzene isomerisation in polymer thin films for hymidity sensing is out!
6 SPM people at once authored the paper and the biggest contributions are made by Sami Vesamäki and SPM alumnus Matti Virkki! The paper is also a collaboration with Prof Markus Linder within LIBER Centre of Excellence.