Free-standing quasi-amorphous arrays with fast structural color rendering for visually specific temperature monitoring

With the increase in integration, functionality, and power density of electronic devices, they need visual temperature sensing materials to intuitively monitor local temperature on the surface of electronic components. However, these materials still face challenges in developing reversible optical signal switching and improving visibility in response to external temperature changes. This work introduces free-standing quasi-amorphous arrays with fast structural color rendering behavior and high color visibility for visually specific temperature monitoring. The arrays employ the integration phase change polymers and polysulfide (PSF) microsphere quasi-amorphous arrays, enabling reversible structural color rendering behaviors in response to temperature changes. The PSF microsphere quasi-amorphous arrays exhibit high color visibility, stability against photobleaching, and further suppress interference from observation angles during temperature monitoring. Structural color rendering of different arrays occurs at 10.94 °C, 19.2 °C, 41.3 °C, and 54.1 °C, which is derived from thermally stimulated optical transparency switching in the crystalline region of phase change polymers. Following this principle, the designed visual temperature sensing label achieves reversible color switching between white and structural colors in response to external temperature changes. This label can be used to monitor temperature over a wide temperature range of simulated electronic chips, maintaining excellent stability after 100 cycles. Therefore, free-standing quasi-amorphous arrays offer a technique for reversible temperature-dependent structural color rendering, providing new opportunities for visually specific temperature monitoring.