Environmentally responsive dual-compartment microcapsules with full spectrum color-changing performance for anti-counterfeiting applications

Abstract

Micro-nano capsules have garnered significant attention due to their potential applications. However, the capacity to load these capsules with various substances and induce dynamic color-changing effects remains an unexplored area of research. Here, inspired by the color-changing abilities of tree frogs, we developed a dual-compartment composite microcapsule that responds to multiple stimuli. This microcapsule was fabricated by electrostatically adsorbing nanocapsules onto its surface, enabling full-spectrum color changes in response to UV light and temperature variations. By precisely regulating the number of nanocapsules on the surface of the composite microcapsules and adjusting the micro-nano-level coloration on individual composite microcapsules, a variety of stable and coordinated colors can be achieved. The microcapsules possess stable and fully reversible multicolored changing properties and can effectively be used as anti-counterfeiting inks in the screen-printing process. This advancement holds wide-ranging potential applications in the next generation of anti-counterfeiting labels and information encryption.