“This bottom-up approach to device fabrication will push the boundaries of additive manufacturing like never before,“ predicts Dr Victor Sans Sangorrin, University of Nottingham Faculty of Engineering. „Using a unique integrated design approach, we have demonstrated functional synergy between photochromic molecules and polymers in a fully 3D-printed device. Our approach expands the toolbox of advanced materials available to engineers developing devices for real-world problems,” as Dr Sans explains.

To demonstrate their concept, the team developed a photoactive molecule that changes from colourless to blue when irradiated with light. The colour change can then be reversed by exposure to oxygen from the air.

The research, led by Dr Victor Sans Sangorrin and Dr Graham Newton, is published in Advanced Materials. Photo: University of Nottingham

The researchers then 3D-printed composite materials by combining the photoactive molecules with a tailor-made polymer, yielding a new material that can store information reversibly.

Dr Graham Newton from the School of Chemistry said: “We can now take any molecules that change properties upon exposure to light and print them into composites with almost any shape or size.

In theory, it would be possible to reversibly encode something quite complex like a QR code or a barcode, and then wipe the material clean, almost like cleaning a whiteboard with an eraser. While our devices currently operate using colour changes, this approach could be used to develop materials for energy storage and electronics.”