Progress in molecular imprinted photonic crystals

Abstract

Photonic crystal is a kind of ordered material which consists of two or more periodic arranged refractive index materials, and the propagation of light can be controlled by changing its average refractive index or lattice spacing. The molecularly imprinted photonic crystal chemical sensors based on the combination of responsive photonic crystal structure and molecular imprinting technique have attracted research interests due to their strong specificity, high sensitivity and self-expression ability, which also provide a novel strategy for the trace detection. In this review, the two- and three-dimensional photonic crystal sensor materials were introduced, and the preparation, properties and applications of molecular imprinted photonic crystal(MIPC) were reviewed. The future research focus such as the improvement of resolution and repeatability of MIPC visual detection materials was analyzed and prospected at last.

Keywords

• photonic crystal
• molecular imprinting technology
• sensors
• self-expression