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Fabrication of anti-counterfeiting patterns with angle-dependent colors by silkscreen printing and UV-curable photonic crystal inks

基于丝网印刷和光固化油墨制备具有角度变色效应 的光子晶体防伪图案

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Abstract

Photonic crystal (PC) pattern with angle-dependent colors is a promising anti-counterfeiting material as it can show unique visual effects without physical or chemical stimuli. Although various methods have been reported to fabricate PC patterns, few of them offer a complete solution for the fast, low-cost, and mass production of these materials. Here, delicate PC patterns are fabricated by silkscreen printing of photo-curable SiO2/monomer PC inks on the substrate, followed by ultraviolet irradiation to fix the PC structures. The PC inks composed of acrylic, acrylamide, and alkene monomers can be quickly cured in the air. They can also produce PC marks with noticeable angle effects, uniform color distribution, and good mechanical and chemical stabilities. Meanwhile, the silkscreen stencils with different mesh numbers are investigated to achieve the best color intensity and high printing resolution. Finally, as a demonstration of the anti-counterfeiting functions, the as-prepared monochromatic PC pattern changes color with the incident/viewing angle, while the bicolor pattern reversibly switches to a “quasimonochromatic” pattern or is alternately revealed under different angles.

摘要

具有角度变色效应的光子晶体图案是一种新型防伪材料. 虽然 该材料的制备方法早有报道, 但鲜有研究工作聚焦于发展低成本、规 模化、高效可控的制备技术与工艺. 本论文发展了一种结合丝网印刷 和光固化过程的新制备方法, 以SiO2胶粒/单体为油墨, 通过丝印在基 材表面构筑图案, 并利用紫外光固化最终形成光子晶体图案. 通过综合 评估光子晶体油墨的固化速度、所制墨迹的角度变色能力、结构色分 布均匀性、机械及化学稳定性, 从“丙烯酸酯型”、“丙烯酰胺型”、“烯 烃型”活性单体中筛选出适于制造光子晶体油墨的单体主料和辅料. 此 外, 通过系统研究丝印模板目数对涂层厚度和印刷分辨率的影响, 确定 了实现最优结构色强度和图案精度的制备条件. 最后, 论文提出几种光 子晶体防伪图案的设计方案, 可实现单色图案随角度变色、双色图案 特定角度单色化、层叠图案交替显现等动态视觉效果.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22172054 and 21972046).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    Jieqiu Wang  (王杰秋), Fei Pang  (庞飞), Qianqian Fu  (傅茜茜) & Jianping Ge  (葛建平)

  2. Institute of Eco-Chongming, Shanghai, 202162, China

    Jianping Ge  (葛建平)

Authors
  1. Jieqiu Wang  (王杰秋)
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  2. Fei Pang  (庞飞)
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  3. Qianqian Fu  (傅茜茜)
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  4. Jianping Ge  (葛建平)
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Contributions

Wang J conducted the experiments; Ge J managed this study and wrote the paper, assisted by Pang F and Fu Q. All authors contributed to the general discussion.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianping Ge  (葛建平).

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Supplementary information

Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Jieqiu Wang received her bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from Anhui University of Science and Technology in 2019. She is currently a PhD student at the East China Normal University, supervised by Prof. Jianping Ge. Her research topic is the printing of photonic crystal patterns for anti-counterfeiting applications.

Jianping Ge received his PhD degree from Tsinghua University in 2006. He is a full professor at Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, East China Normal University. His research interests focus on the self-assembly and application of colloidal photonic crystal materials, including sensors, display, printing, coatings, photocatalysis, and anticounterfeiting materials.

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Fabrication of anti-counterfeiting patterns with angle-dependent colors by silkscreen printing and UV-curable photonic crystal inks

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Wang, J., Pang, F., Fu, Q. et al. Fabrication of anti-counterfeiting patterns with angle-dependent colors by silkscreen printing and UV-curable photonic crystal inks. Sci. China Mater. 66, 1623–1631 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-022-2256-8

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