Ionoprinting controlled information storage of fluorescent hydrogel for hierarchical and multi-dimensional decryption

Information storage and corresponding encryption/decryption are highly important owing to the prevalence of counterfeit activities and information leakage in the current age. Herein, we propose a novel method to store information via controllable ionoprinting onto fluorescent hydrogel for hierarchical and multi-dimensional decryption.Through incorporating pyrene moieties and carboxylic groups into polymeric hydrogel network, fluorescence changing and controllable shape deformation behaviors could be achieved and integrated by ionoprinting of Fe3+ions. The diffusion of Fe^3+ions into fluorescent hydrogel can quench the fluorescence of pyrene moieties, and chelate with carboxylic groups to generate anisotropic structures for shape deformation simultaneously. Thus, fluorescence quenching-based 2D information and actuation-based 3D information could be hierarchically decrypted when exposed to UV light and being put into water, respectively. Importantly, the stored information could be erased by replacing Fe^3+with H^+, which allows the fluorescent hydrogel as a recyclable information storage material. This work may provide new insights in designing and fabricating novel soft devices for hierarchical and multidimensional information encryption, against the rising problems of counterfeiting and confidential information disclosure.

Dual-imaging-mode smart hydrogel information platform for illumination-independent covert decryption and read

Smart hydrogel with color responsiveness is envisioned as one of the most promising materials for advanced information encryption and decryption platform,but the illumination-dependent way of decrypt-ing and reading information leads to the worrying of concealment in some particular scenarios.Herein,we proposed a smart hydrogel information platform with dual imaging modes by utilizing the accom-panying behaviors in transparency change and heat releasing after crystallization of supercooled solution.For this smart hydrogel informa-tion platform,the hidden information could be written and decrypted by ink of ethylene glycol and decryption tool of seed crystal,respec-tively.Furthermore,in addition to the traditional optical imaging mode with the assistance of light illumination,the decrypted information on dual-imaging-mode hydrogel platform also could be read by thermal imaging mode in dark environment owing to the exothermic crystal-lization.The illumination-independent read mode based on heat radia-tion helps to improve the secrecy and safety of the decryption and read process.This investigation provides a facile and feasible strategy to design illumination-independent information platform that enables reading the encrypted information in secret.