Advanced Materials, Vol.14, No.6, 443-443, 2002
"Smart" glasses: Molecular programming of rapid dynamic responses in organosilica sol-gels
"Intelligent" organosilica sol-gels that show fast dynamic response to temperature, pH. and electric fields are presented. A bis-(propyl)ethylenediamine bridge is responsible for a change of water affinity under environmental stimuli. resulting in water expulsion or uptake by the polymeric network. The Figure shows the tips of a tweezer-like sol-gel device that opens and closes upon pH fluctuation.