Processable subnanowire-liquid crystal ink for encryption and anti-counterfeiting

Information encrypting and anti-counterfeiting have attracted increasing attention in the fields of information communications and Internet of Things. It is of great significance to construct advanced stimuli-responsive materials with simple encryption/decryption procedures and high reliability. Herein, the subnanowire (SNW)-liquid crystal (LC) ink was prepared with Bi₂O₃-PMoO SNWs and commercial LCs 4’-pentyl-[1,1’-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile (5CB), which can be used for preparing films and patterning through blade coating or writing/printing. Through combining photothermal conversion performance of SNWs with thermotropic phase transition of LCs and smart design and patterning, different forms of SNW-LC materials with photoresponsive performance can be applied in multiple-mode information encryption and anti-counterfeiting effectively, exhibiting fast response rate (within 10 s), high sensitivity (even flashlight of mobile phone), and great stability (over 100 cycles). Considering the versatility and easy processability of SNW-LC ink and the good responsiveness and high reliability of SNW-LC materials, combination of SNWs and LCs may be a potential candidate for effective encryption and anti-counterfeiting.