Structural multi-colour invisible inks with submicron 4D printing of shape memory polymers

Four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymer (SMP) imparts time responsive properties to 3D structures. Here, we explore 4D printing of a SMP in the submicron length scale, extending its applications to nanophononics. We report a new SMP photoresist based on Vero Clear achieving print feat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 112 - 8
Main Authors: Zhang, Wang, Wang, Hao, Wang, Hongtao, Chan, John You En, Liu, Hailong, Zhang, Biao, Zhang, Yuan-Fang, Agarwal, Komal, Yang, Xiaolong, Ranganath, Anupama Sargur, Low, Hong Yee, Ge, Qi, Yang, Joel K. W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.01.2021
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects:
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142/126
147/135
639/301/1019/1015
639/301/357/551
639/624/400/1021
Biodegradable materials
Color
Deformation effects
Glass transition temperature
Humanities and Social Sciences
Inks
Morphology
multidisciplinary
Nanostructure
Optical properties
Photoresists
Polymers
Printing
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Shape effects
Shape memory
Transition temperatures
Visual effects
ISSN:2041-1723, 2041-1723
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymer (SMP) imparts time responsive properties to 3D structures. Here, we explore 4D printing of a SMP in the submicron length scale, extending its applications to nanophononics. We report a new SMP photoresist based on Vero Clear achieving print features at a resolution of ~300 nm half pitch using two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL). Prints consisting of grids with size-tunable multi-colours enabled the study of shape memory effects to achieve large visual shifts through nanoscale structure deformation. As the nanostructures are flattened, the colours and printed information become invisible. Remarkably, the shape memory effect recovers the original surface morphology of the nanostructures along with its structural colour within seconds of heating above its glass transition temperature. The high-resolution printing and excellent reversibility in both microtopography and optical properties promises a platform for temperature-sensitive labels, information hiding for anti-counterfeiting, and tunable photonic devices. Four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymer (SMP) imparts time responsive properties to 3D structures. Here, the authors explore 4D printing of a SMP in the submicron length scale, extending its applications to nanophononics.
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ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-20300-2