Wetting-Enhanced Structural Color for Convenient and Reversible Encryption of Optical Information

Encrypted storage of optical information has attracted increasing interest for anticounterfeiting, information transmission, and military applications. In this study, an inverse opal-structured titanium dioxide/heptadecafluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (IOS-T/F) panel is developed. Based on a unique wetting-enhanced mechanism of structural color vision derived from a reduced light scattering and strengthened effective refractive index, this panel is capable of reversible writing/erasing and encryption/decryption of optical information. Multiple levels of information can be compiled, concealed, and erased simply using controlled ultraviolet irradiation to form patterned hydrophilic/hydrophobic differences, and the process of revealing or concealing the information only requires a few drops of water or evaporation, respectively. Importantly, the functions of the IOS-T/F panel can be well maintained under harsh conditions, including strongly acidic/alkaline environments or extreme temperatures (from -40 to 80 °C), as well as can be recovered after staining by various pollutants. This system provides simple encryption, rapid decryption, and the ability to store multiple sets of information under diverse application scenarios, which represents a novel material design strategy for security-related applications and smart optical systems.