May 10, 2025

The integration of responsive materials into manufacturing systems to achieve real-time performance control remains insufficiently explored. Such integration holds the promise of enhancing printing flexibility and expanding its application potential. In this study, in collaboration with Professor Li Zhang from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Metin Sitti from the Max Planck Institute, and other researchers, we propose the concept of "Field-Coupled Advanced Manufacturing" in the field of structural color. Using an electric field-coupled two-photon polymerization system as an example, we demonstrate its application in constructing microstructures with structural color. Three-dimensional microstructures with structural color show great potential in applications such as optics and anti-counterfeiting. This system leverages an electric field to regulate the self-assembly behavior of liquid crystals during the manufacturing process, enabling on-demand dynamic control of structural color liquid crystal materials (specifically, a cholesteric liquid crystal ink with a helical conical structure). Simultaneously, the ability of the electric field to modulate the birefringence properties of liquid crystals further eliminates the need for traditional photolithography processes, providing an efficient and highly adaptable new approach for manufacturing structural color devices.

Paper Information:

Wei Feng, Shurong Sheng, Jiaqing He, Xiaopu Wang, Jiaqi Zhu, Jiangfan Yu, Jianhua Zhang, Fan Wang, Li Zhang, Metin Sitti. Electric field-coupled two-photon polymerization system for on-demand modulation of 3D-printed structural color. PNAS Nexus2025, 4 (5), pgaf074.

https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf074