Luminescent Timeline from Confined Active Radicals Enables Infinite Cryptograph

Abstract

The development of encryption materials is essential to meeting the increasing demand for information security. However, the present materials are susceptible to duplication due to a finite numbers of crypto states. Here, we report one chemical method to expand anticounterfeiting information from discrete, finite states to continuous, infinite states in the temporal domain by regulating the chemical reactions of luminescent radicals with the assistance of image-analysis technology. Infinite cryptographic materials were fabricated with continuous dynamic luminescence processes by integrating reversible radical reactions into confined radical luminescent systems. The inherent chemical kinetics of active radical emitters can be converted to time-dependent emission curves, serving as unclonable keys with nearly infinite crypto states in the temporal domain. Fluorescent AIE molecules were then introduced to expand the color gamut, further enriching the encoding capacity. These infinite cryptographic materials offer a robust anticounterfeiting platform, providing novel pathways for high-level information-protection applications.