Laser-Printing of Dynamic Colorful-Patterns Activated by Pure-Water

Traditional printing technologies rely heavily on chemical dyes and organic reagents, posing significant environmental risks and resource sustainability challenges. Although bio-inspired structural colors offer a promising alternative, efficiently and conveniently achieving high-resolution, reversible, and eco-friendly patterning of dynamic optical content remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report a scalable and sustainable color-printing strategy that employs pure water to activate dynamic patterns within laser-programmed cholesteric liquid crystal networks (CLCNs). By leveraging laser direct-writing technology, a highly temporal-spatial resolution complex optical information with a highly customizable printing ecosystem has been constructed. This strategy relies on adjusting the spatial distribution anisotropy of internal cross-link density to program the swelling behavior of the helical-structures, which generating structural-color can cover across the full visible spectrum. We demonstrate the versatility of this high-throughput fabrication platform through multidimensional information encryption, self-adaptive QR codes, and smart architectural coatings. The presented new printing ecosystem, due to its characteristics such as easily accessible raw materials, simple process, high economic applicability, and environmental friendliness, is bound to have a broader development space and will not be confined to laboratory manufacturing.