Chiral Nematic Coatings Based on Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Multiplexing Platform for Humidity Sensing and Dual Anticounterfeiting

The need for a precise regulation of the properties of chiral nematic structures in response to external stimuli is addressed. Self-assembled iridescent coatings are produced under the effect of electrostatic interactions between cellulose nanocrystals and poly(acrylic acid), endowing a high anisotropic dissymmetry (>0.3) and sensitivity to environmental humidity (13.1 nm/1% at 68-75% relative humidity, RH). The phenomena associated with shifts in selective light reflection (green to orange) and polarization, facilitate tunable transmitted colors (blue to orange) at given rotation angles (RA). Such properties are conveniently integrated into a "RH-RA-color" ternary code that is introduced as an anticounterfeiting technology, taking advantage of multicolor patterns that conveniently track with changes in RH and RA. The proposed charge-driven assembly opens new opportunities for chiral nematic materials that enable precise optical sensing and information encryption.

Description

| openaire: EC/H2020/788489/EU//BioELCell

Keywords

anticounterfeiting, cellulose nanocrystals, chiral nematic coatings, electrostatic interactions, humidity response, IONIC-STRENGTH, WATER, COMPOSITES, RELAXATION, SENSORS, COLOR

DOI

10.1002/smll.202103936

Citation

Zhao , G , Huang , Y , Mei , C , Zhai , S , Xuan , Y , Liu , Z , Pan , M & Rojas , O J 2021 , ' Chiral Nematic Coatings Based on Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Multiplexing Platform for Humidity Sensing and Dual Anticounterfeiting ' , Small , vol. 17 , no. 50 , 2103936 . https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202103936

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202111019940

Collections

[article-cris] Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu / CHEM

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