The photochromic properties of indoline spirooxazine-thermoplastic polymer systems obtained by supercritical fluid impregnation

Abstract

The impregnation of thermoplastic polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polycarbonate) with photochromic compounds from the class of indoline spirooxazines in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was studied. The concentration of the photochrome and the kinetics of decolorization of its colored form depended strongly on the type of the polymer matrix and the structure of spirooxazine. The introduction of 1,3′,3′-trimethylspiro(indoline-2′,3-3H-anthraceno[2,1-b][1,4]oxazine) (SAO) into polycarbonate caused anomalous stabilization (the prolonged conservation of the excited colored form of SAO in the polymer matrix). In contrast to other photochrome-polymer pairs, after supercritical impregnation into polycarbonate, at least 10% of all SAO molecules were in the colored form, which was highly stable and did not decolorize after 150 days; the rest of the impregnated SAO molecules were localized in the matrix as individual molecules, partially colorized after matrix relaxation, or nanocrystals of characteristic sizes ∼10–20 nm. The mechanisms of the anomalous stabilization of the colored SAO form in the polycarbonate matrix are discussed.