Fully Aqueous and Printable Photonic Inks with Tunable Pitch and Optical Memory via Hydrogen-Bonded HPC-PVA Networks.

ABSTRACT: Rewritable and structurally colored biopolymer coatings demand fully aqueous processing, optical tunability, and dry-state color retention, yet these requirements remain difficult to reconcile without chemical crosslinking. Competitive hydrogen bonding between hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is leveraged to achieve dynamic pitch modulation and kinetic trapping of cholesteric order, thereby overcoming the intrinsic limitations of HPC-based inks. In this study, a compositionally programmable, fully water-based photonic ink is realized by blending HPC with PVA additives of varied molecular weight and hydrolysis degree. The resulting formulations exhibit continuously adjustable structural colors (λ_max = 466-633 nm), high yield stress (>100 Pa), and shear-

SUBMITTER: Oh HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12658916 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature