LAUSR

Mechanoresponsive smart windows can modulate optical transparency by mechanical actuation, showing the advantages of low cost, energy efficiency, and chemical stability. To date, mechanoresponsive smart windows are mainly built upon periodic nano- or micro-structures such as arrays, wrinkles, 3D photonic crystals and polymeric nanocomposites. However, the production of periodic structures requires multiple and complicated processes, which restricts large-scale manufacturing mechanoresponsive smart windows for practical application. Here, we report one-pot fabrication of poly methacrylic acid sodium salt (PMANa)/polyurethane (PU) mechanoresponsive smart windows with non-periodic naturally-occurred micro-sized structure. The obtained smart windows display a high contrast ratio and stable transparency switching behavior under 80 % tensile strain over 1000 cycles and has a large breaking elongation of 820 %. It offers a promising platform for designing and fabricating multifunctional optical devices including anti-counterfeiting labels and dynamical light gratings.