Movable‐Type Printing and Chameleon‐Inspired Photothermal Bimodal Flexible Polymer Arrays for Spatiotemporally Programmable Multilevel Encryption

Abstract

Dynamic information encryption systems face critical challenges in achieving multimodal synergy, dynamic reconfigurability, and wearable compatibility. Traditional approaches relying on single‐stimulus mechanisms (e.g., photochromism or thermal actuation) suffer from static architectures and vulnerability to replication. Inspired by the reconfigurable logic of movable‐type printing and the chameleon's hierarchical color modulation, a bioinspired encryption paradigm is presented using photothermal bimodal flexible polymer arrays. Each array module integrates an ultraviolet (UV)‐responsive photochromic layer (spiropyran/spiropyrazine derivatives) for instantaneous optical decryption and a vertically aligned thermal conductive layer (liquid metal/MXene nanocomposites) for time‐resolved infrared encryption. The photochromic layer achieves instantaneous visible pattern switching with tunable fading kinetics (40–70 s), while the thermal layer leverages anisotropic heat dissipation (0.16–5.56 W m−1 K−1) to generate spatiotemporally evolving infrared signatures. Most importantly, the modular architecture enables in situ information reconfiguration through physical rearrangement, overcoming the static limitations of conventional systems. Demonstrations include multilevel security with sequential optical‐thermal decryption (e.g., “027” via UV, “358”, “2769” via IR) and programmable wearable arrays conforming to curved surfaces. This work establishes a paradigm for adaptive, high‐security applications in the areas of anti‐counterfeiting, dynamic authentication, and confidential file transfer, bridging nanomaterial innovation with dynamic information protection.