Multi-mode Polarized Luminescent Au-nanorod Polymer Composites for Advanced Optical Anti-counterfeiting

Li-Rong Xu; Jia-Yong Wang; Jin-Ting Huang; Qian-Yi He; Shao-Lin Lu; Deng-Chong Feng; Ze-Tong Ma; Zhong-Ke Yuan; Yu-Zhao Yang; Xu-Dong Chen

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3428-1

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Multi-mode Polarized Luminescent Au-nanorod Polymer Composites for Advanced Optical Anti-counterfeiting

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-10-30

- Multi-mode Polarized Luminescent Au-nanorod Polymer Composites for Advanced Optical Anti-counterfeiting
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 11, Pages: 2118-2127(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
  b.Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
  c.Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chemistry and Fine Chemical Engineering Jieyang Center, Jieyang 515200, China
- Author bio：
  
  lushlin@gdut.edu.cn (S.L.L.)
  fengdch@gdut.edu.cn (D.C.F.)
  yangyuzh@gdut.edu.cn (Y.Z.Y.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3428-1
  CLC：
- Received：18 June 2025，
  
  Accepted：05 August 2025，
  
  Online First：16 October 2025，
  
  Published：05 November 2025
- Accepted：
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Xu, L. R.; Wang, J. Y.; Huang, J. T.; He, Q. Y.; Lu, S. L.; Feng, D. C.; Ma, Z. T.; Yuan, Z. K.; Yang, Y. Z.; Chen, X. D. Multi-mode polarized luminescent Au-nanorod polymer composites for advanced optical anti-counterfeiting. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2118–2127

Li-Rong Xu, Jia-Yong Wang, Jin-Ting Huang, et al. Multi-mode Polarized Luminescent Au-nanorod Polymer Composites for Advanced Optical Anti-counterfeiting[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(11): 2118-2127.
Xu, L. R.; Wang, J. Y.; Huang, J. T.; He, Q. Y.; Lu, S. L.; Feng, D. C.; Ma, Z. T.; Yuan, Z. K.; Yang, Y. Z.; Chen, X. D. Multi-mode polarized luminescent Au-nanorod polymer composites for advanced optical anti-counterfeiting. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2118–2127 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3428-1.

Li-Rong Xu, Jia-Yong Wang, Jin-Ting Huang, et al. Multi-mode Polarized Luminescent Au-nanorod Polymer Composites for Advanced Optical Anti-counterfeiting[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(11): 2118-2127. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3428-1.

摘要

This work presents a multi-mode luminescent Au-nanorod hydrogel composite with polarization tunability

triple emission (fuorescence/TADF/phosphorescence)

and reversible patterning via stretching

UV lithography

and imprinting. It enables dynamic optical encryption and anti-counterfeiting with self-healing capability.

Abstract

The development of organic afterglow materials with high environmental stability and multi-mode luminescence remains a significant challenge in luminescent anti-counterfeiting. In this work

an organic luminescent molecule was encapsulated within polyacrylamide microspheres and embedded in a gold nanorod-doped

ferric ion-crosslinked hydrogel exhibiting upper critical solution temperature behavior. The obtained composites exhibited fluorescence

thermally activated delayed fluorescence

and phosphorescence. Through the application of extrusion or uniaxial stretching

the orientation of the gold nanorods was modulated

enabling polarization-dependent luminescence through transverse surface plasmon resonance absorption. At 300% uniaxial strain

the polarized fluorescence intensity difference at 520 nm reached 0.29. Furthermore

ultraviolet irradiation was employed to locally disrupt the orientation of the gold nanorods

resulting in depolarization within the irradiated regions. These areas displayed non-polarized fluorescence

while the non-irradiated regions retained both emission and fluorescence polarization characteristics. Localized imprinting was employed to modulate material thickness

thereby controlling the density of gold nanorods. Thinner regions exhibited weaker transverse localized surface plasmon resonance absorption

while thicker regions showed stronger absorption

enabling the coexistence of blue–green fluorescence and polarization patterns. Local humidification effectively reduced phosphorescence intensity

enhancing the material’s environmental responsiveness. The composite demonstrated excellent reversibility over multiple stretching–self-healing cycles and pattern-switching processes

highlighting its strong potential for multidimensional optical encryption and intelligent anti-counterfeiting applications.

关键词

Keywords

references

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