From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System

Zhuo-Hang Cai; Chang-Hao Li; Jian-Feng Li

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z

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From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-07-25

- From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System
- From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science 2026年44卷页码：1-11
- Affiliations：
  
  a.The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  b.College of Energy Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
  c.Joint Research Centre on Medicine, Xiangshan Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Ningbo 315700, China
- Author bio：
  
  changhao.li@zju.edu.cn (C.H.L.)
  lijf@fudan.edu.cn (J.F.L.)
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22373022 and 52394272), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFA0915300), and the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan (No. 24JD1400700). The authors thank Prof. Shigeyuki Komura for helpful discussions.;The authors declare no interest conflict.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z.The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and ESI. Additional data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2026-04-03，
  
  录用：2026-05-19，
  
  网络首发：2026-07-24，
  
  纸质出版：2026-06
- Accepted：
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Cai, Z. H.; Li, C. H.; Li, J. F. From global to localized illumination: tunable photo-induced patterns in a ternary reaction-diffusion system. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z

Zhuo-Hang Cai, Chang-Hao Li, Jian-Feng Li. From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-11.
Cai, Z. H.; Li, C. H.; Li, J. F. From global to localized illumination: tunable photo-induced patterns in a ternary reaction-diffusion system. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z DOI：

Zhuo-Hang Cai, Chang-Hao Li, Jian-Feng Li. From Global to Localized Illumination: Tunable Photo-induced Patterns in a Ternary Reaction-diffusion System[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-11. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3753-z.

摘要

Abstract

Photo-induced reaction-diffusion systems provide a valuable theoretical framework for exploring nonequilibrium self-organization under external energy input. Most existing studies have focused on binary mixtures subjected to globally uniform driving

whereas realistic chemical and biological systems are typically multicomponent and experience strongly localized energy supply. In this work

we extend photo-induced reaction-diffusion models to a multicomponent setting and systematically investigate pattern formation in a minimal three-component system. By combining numerical simulations with linear stability analysis

we find illumination can induce periodic nonequilibrium structures

whose characteristic length scales can be tuned by the input energy density and intrinsic molecular energetic parameters. We further introduce localized illumination to capture the effects of spatially heterogeneous energy input. Under such conditions

a theoretical phase diagram for pattern formation is constructed

revealing distinct spatial morphologies

including dot patterns and target-like structures. In addition

we explicitly examine the nonnegativity of entropy production for both globally and locally illuminated systems. These results provide a unified and physically consistent framework for understanding photo-induced pattern formation in multicomponent nonequilibrium systems and are also applicable to photoexcitation-controlled supramolecular systems such as persulfurated-arene/block-copolymer assemblies.

关键词

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