Bio-inspired vapor-responsive colloidal photonic crystal patterns by inkjet printing

Facile, fast, and cost-effective technology for patterning of responsive colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs) is of great importance for their practical applications. In this report, we develop a kind of responsive CPC patterns with multicolor shifting properties by inkjet printing mesoporous colloidal nanoparticle ink on both rigid and soft substrates. By adjusting the size and mesopores' proportion of nanoparticles, we can precisely control the original color and vapor-responsive color shift extent of mesoporous CPC. As a consequence, multicolor mesoporous CPCs patterns with complex vapor responsive color shifts or vapor-revealed implicit images are subsequently achieved. The complicated and reversible multicolor shifts of mesoporous CPC patterns are favorable for immediate recognition by naked eyes but hard to copy. This approach is favorable for integration of responsive CPCs with controllable responsive optical properties. Therefore, it is of great promise for developing advanced responsive CPC devices such as anticounterfeiting devices, multifunctional microchips, sensor arrays, or dynamic displays.