Polymer materials with multiple stimuli-responsive properties have demonstrated many potential and practical applications. By covalently introducing spiropyran (SP1) and spirothiopyran (STP) into the polyurethane backbone, photochromic, mechanochromic, and thermally discolored polymer materials have been prepared. In this work, we report for the first time that white light (violet, blue, and green light) above a certain intensity can activate STP to green color. Based on the above discovery, the polyurethane with SP1 and STP can exhibit reversible three-color changes (brown, green, and purple) in response to four stimuli: ultraviolet irradiation, white light irradiation, mechanical stress, and heat. The color-changing polymer materials have high color contrast and excellent reversibility, and can be used for reversible writing, anticounterfeiting and information encryption, etc.
Bright structural color derived from the unique helical superstructure of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) has attracted much attention. In addition, fluorescence color is an intrinsic emission upon excitation, which can be observed often under UV light. However, it is a challenge to combine the fluorescence and structural colors to construct a self-supporting system at the same time. In this work, a photoresponsive cyanostilbene-based gelator (CSpy-C10) is synthesized, which emits blue fluorescence in LC. CSpy-C10 can gel LCs and further construct thermo-/photoresponsive CLC physical gels. The structural color of the CLCs, fluorescence, and mechanical properties of the gels can be independently regulated due to the separation of the chiral unit and photoresponsive unit with aggregation-induced emission behavior. Finally, the reversible information encryption including writing and erasing based on the changes in fluorescence are explored. This kind of two-color material can be applied in the fields ranging from information encryption, fluorescent display to high-tech anticounterfeiting.