Self-healing of optical functions by molecular metabolism in a swollen elastomer

Optical functions of organic dyes, e.g., fluorescence or photochromism, tend to degrade by light irradiation, which causes a short lifetime of photonic devices. Self-healing of optical functions is attainable by metabolizing bleached molecules with nonirradiated ones. A polydimethylsiloxane elastomer provides a useful matrix for dye molecules, since its flexible structure with nano-sized intermolecular spaces allows dye diffusion from a reservoir to an operation region. Swelling the elastomer with a suitable solvent promotes both dissolution and diffusion of dye molecules. This self-healing function was demonstrated by an experiment in which a photochromic elastomer exhibited improved durability against a repeated coloring-decoloring process.