Dynamic Color-Switching of Hydrogel Micropillar Array under Ethanol Vapor for Optical Encryption

Responsive structural colors from artificially engineered micro/nanostructures are critical to the development of anti-counterfeiting, optical encryption, and intelligent display. Herein, the responsive structural color of hydrogel micropillar array is demonstrated under the external stimulus of ethanol vapor. Micropillar arrays with full color are fabricated via femtosecond laser direct writing by controlling the height and diameter of the micropillars according to the FDTD simulation. Color-switching of the micropillar arrays is achieved in <1 s due to the formation of liquid film among micropillars. More importantly, the structural color blueshift of the micropillar arrays is sensitive to the micropillar diameter, instead of the micropillar height. The micropillar array with a diameter of 772 nm takes 400 ms to complete blueshift under ethanol vapor, while that with a diameter of 522 nm blueshifts at 2400 ms. Microscale patterns are realized by employing the size-dependent color-switching of designed micropillar arrays under ethanol vapor. Moreover, Morse code and directional blueshift of structural colors are realized in the micropillar arrays. The advantages of controllable color-switching of the hydrogel micropillar array would be prospective in the areas of optical encryption, dynamic display, and anti-counterfeiting.