A Versatile Materials Class for Solution-Processed Opticsand Photonics Based On Titanium Oxide Hydrates andPolyalcohols: A Perspective
Date
2025-10-24
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Advanced Materials
Abstract
The ability to propagate light within a structure comprising a controlled spatial distribution of the refractive index n prompted the telecommunications revolution of the 20th century. More recently, progress with exploiting the flow of light has led to a broad range of light- and heat-management tools, as well as novel quantum devices. This perspective discusses a new versatile class of optical materials based on molecular hybrids of metal oxide hydrates and commodity polymers, such as poly(vinyl alcohol). These fascinating, easy-to-produce materials are examined, and their processing into useful architectures such as photonic crystals is reviewed, with a focus on thin-film optics. Their potential in other areas is also assessed, for instance, for the fabrication of optical microcavities that allow the formation of exciton-polaritons, enabling studies on strong light-matter interactions. Generally, these molecular hybrids open future opportunities in applications like optics, photonics, quantum devices, catalysis, and beyond.
Description
©2025 The Author(s).Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ which permits use distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited.
This article was originally published in Advanced Materials. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202507028
Keywords
Diffraction gratings, distributed Bragg reflectors, exciton-polaritons, heat mirrors, high refractive index polymers, inorganic-organic hybrid materials, metal oxide hydrates, optical microcavities
Citation
"Quirós-Cordero, V., Balzer, A. H., Bachevillier, S., Watkins, N., Ferreira, A. F., Mushyakov, J., Dhoot, M., Silva-Acuña, C., Stavrinou, P. N., & Stingelin, N. (2025). A Versatile Materials Class for Solution-Processed Optics and Photonics Based On Titanium Oxide Hydrates and Polyalcohols: A Perspective. Advanced Materials, n/a(n/a), e07028. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202507028 "