Pamukkale University (PAU) has developed a chatoyant product through research on conducting polymers, also known as "chameleon materials."
According to the PAU's statement, Professor Metin Ak, an academic from the Chemistry Department of PAU's Science and Letters Faculty, and his team have been working with conducting polymer materials.
The technology, obtained after the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK)-backed work at the Advanced Polymeric Materials Research Center Laboratory, has made it possible to create color-changing clothing.
The material will be also used in military uniforms, providing superior camouflage with its allochromatic characteristics.
Professor Ak said silicium-based electronics gave way to organic electronics thanks to conducting plastic materials. He also added they have created polymers that can change color with electric currents and have used them to produce a few colors from the transparent shade.
Discussing the vast possibilities of smart glass made with the conducting polymer materials to create "smart" windows that could tint themselves to deflect direct sunlight, Ak continued: "The glass on cars could also change color with this technology, and sunglasses designed with the same technology could change color, according to our mood, clothes or the weather, powered by a small battery hidden inside the frame. This technology, also called "chameleon materials," can be used in several technological applications, such as supercapacitors, artificial muscles, foldable screens and biomedical practices. This technology will be used to make clothes designed to change color. When the material is used in military garb, soldiers will be able to camouflage themselves much more easily, changing their uniforms' color according to their surroundings."
