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Movable type printing-inspired information storage enabled by self-healable fluorescent liquid crystal elastomers

受活字印刷启发的可用于信息存储的自愈合荧光液晶弹性体

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Abstract

The development of information storage materials plays a key role in the advancement of the information society. However, the storage of fluorescent information using photoresponsive molecules requires various different masks, and each change in the stored information needs to be replaced with a new type of mask, which causes inconvenience for the information recording. Here, inspired by movable type printing, a phototunable, self-healable fluorescent liquid crystal elastomer (FLCE) serving as an information storage medium is developed using a simple two-stage amine-acrylate aza-Michael reaction under mild heating. The obtained FLCE film exhibits phototunable fluorescence properties due to Z/E photoisomerization of the α-cyanodiarylethene molecules and shows excellent self-healing and reconfigurable shape capability by introducing dynamic boronic ester bonds. With the FLCE films as storage media, proof-of-concept movable type printing-motivated information recordings are demonstrated, thus avoiding repeated photomask replacement and prolonging the service life of the storage materials. This work provides valuable insight for the development of easy-to-use and large-area information storage materials.

摘要

信息存储材料的发展在信息社会的进步中起着关键作用. 然而, 在光寻址记录信息时, 通常每次记录信息都需要更换不同的掩模, 这在 实际应用中极为不便. 本文受活字印刷术的启发, 开发了一种可作为信 息存储和记录介质的自愈合荧光液晶弹性体. 该薄膜在温和的加热条 件下经由简单的两阶段胺-丙烯酸酯aza-Michael反应制备而成. 由于α-氰基取代二芳基乙烯荧光分子的光异构化, 液晶弹性体薄膜表现出光 可调的荧光特性. 同时, 动态硼酸酯键的引入使其具备了优异的自愈合 和可重构形状性能. 以上述荧光液晶弹性体薄膜作为存储介质, 概念验 证性地展示了活字印刷驱动的信息记录, 该方法避免了重复更换光掩 膜, 并延长了存储材料的使用寿命. 这项工作为开发易于使用的、可大 面积制备的信息存储材料提供了有益的启示.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52073017 and 51773009).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Carbon Fibers and Functional Polymers, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jingjing Gao  (高京京), Xiaoyang Cong  (丛晓阳), Yuting Tang  (汤玉婷) & Jinbao Guo  (郭金宝)

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  1. Jingjing Gao  (高京京)
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  2. Xiaoyang Cong  (丛晓阳)
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  3. Yuting Tang  (汤玉婷)
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  4. Jinbao Guo  (郭金宝)
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Contributions

Author contributions Guo J and Gao J designed this project; Gao J, Cong X, Tang Y performed the experiments; Gao J, Cong X and Guo J analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the general discussion.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jinbao Guo  (郭金宝).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

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

Jingjing Gao received her PhD degree in materials science and engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Jinbao Guo. Her research interests mainly focus on stimulus-responsive fluorescent liquid crystal actuators and their applications in information storage and encryption.

Xiaoyang Cong is a Master’s student in materials science and engineering at BUCT. She is under the supervision of Professor Jinbao Guo. Her research interests focus on multi-functional fluorescent liquid crystal materials and their applications in information storage, encryption, and environmental monitoring.

Jinbao Guo is a professor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, BUCT. He received his PhD degree in materials physics and chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), China, in 2008. He spent one year working at the College of Engineering, University of Michigan as a Research Fellow in 2012. His current interests include stimulus-responsive smart liquid crystal materials and advanced polymer materials, and he also concerns their potential applications in diverse areas ranging from photonics to energy and sustainable fields.

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Gao, J., Cong, X., Tang, Y. et al. Movable type printing-inspired information storage enabled by self-healable fluorescent liquid crystal elastomers. Sci. China Mater. 67, 355–362 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-023-2694-0

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