Silk fibroin-cellulose inverse opal photonic crystals and humidity-responsive sensing

Abstract The determination of moisture content is of great significance in various aspects of production and daily life. There is an urgent demand to develop humidity detection methods that are faster, more accurate, and economically viable. In this study, we fabricated a degradable, high-toughness inverse opal photonic crystal using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microspheres as a template and silk fibroin-methylcellulose as the structural matrix. The developed sensor exhibits a strong response to moisture in gaseous, liquid, and solid phases, demonstrating significant practical application potential.