Tuning Down of Color Transition Temperature of Thermochromically Reversible Bisdiynamide Polydiacetylenes

A series of bisdiynamide lipids containing various lengths of methylene spacer (m = 2, 3 and 4) between the diynes and the diamide headgroup and number of methylene units (n = 6 and 9) in their hydrophobic tails are synthesized. All six lipids synthesized can be dispersed in water and photopolymerized by UV irradiation to give the corresponding polydiacetylene (PDA) sols. The color transitions from blue to red during heating-cooling cycles of the PDA sols are photographically recorded and monitored by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The bisdiynamide PDAs exhibit excellent thermochromic reversibility and the color transition temperature can be tuned between ca. 25-55 degrees C by the variation of m and n values. Temperature indicators can be obtained by applying a screen printing ink formulated from the bisdiynamide monomer on plastic substrates followed by UV irradiation to generate desired patterns of thermochromically reversible PDAs.