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MoS₂-loaded cholesteric liquid crystal microcapsules for NIR responsive thermochromism.

Xinyi Li¹, Shijian Huang¹, Shuting Xie^1,2

¹Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Structure and Fundamental Interactions of Matter, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China. shuill@m.scnu.edu.cn.

|July 14, 2026

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Researchers developed new thermochromic microcapsules using molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC). These near-infrared-activated thermochromic microcapsules (NIR-TCMs) show faster response times and enhanced color saturation for advanced applications.

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Photonics

Background:

Thermochromic materials change color with temperature and are used in coatings and anti-counterfeiting.
Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) offer dynamic optical responses but suffer from slow response times and limited color saturation when confined.
Existing CLC confinement methods create defects that hinder reorganization, impacting performance.

Purpose of the Study:

To engineer near-infrared-activated thermochromic microcapsules (NIR-TCMs) with improved response speed and color saturation.
To utilize droplet microfluidics for fabricating MoS2-doped CLC microcapsules.
To investigate the role of MoS2 in enhancing thermal transport and optical properties.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of double emulsion droplets containing CLC core using droplet microfluidics.

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Incorporation of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles into the CLC core.

Polymerization of the middle phase to form microcapsules with controllable dimensions.

Characterization of optical properties and response times under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation.

Main Results:

MoS2-doped CLC microcapsules (NIR-TCMs) exhibited a ~3-fold reduction in response time (from 19.0 ± 2.35 s to 6.2 ± 0.84 s).
Color saturation significantly increased, with excitation purity rising from 0.16 ± 0.03 to 0.55 ± 0.05.
MoS2 enhanced thermal transport and enabled NIR photothermal chromism via broadband absorption.
Patternable NIR-TCM films demonstrated remote modulation of optical properties for information encryption.

Conclusions:

MoS2 doping effectively mitigates thermal resistance and accelerates the thermochromic response of CLC microcapsules.
The developed NIR-TCMs offer enhanced color saturation and enable remote optical modulation via NIR light.
These microcapsules present a promising platform for photonic chips, information encryption, and advanced optical coatings.