A Surface Diffusion Barrier Strategy toward Water-Resistant Photonic Materials for Accurate Detection of Ethanol

Photonic materials that enable visual detection of chemicals have shown great potential for wide applications in chemical, environmental, biotechnological, and food industries, but until now, using hydrophilic photonic materials for tracing water-soluble chemicals remains a major challenge due to the strong water interference. Here, we demonstrate a two-step co-assembly and subsequent surface coating strategy to develop an ethanol-sensitive and anti-water interference photonic crystal film. By using citric acid as a co-assembly phase, high ethanol sensing is realized because of the strong intermolecular affinity. By controlling the thickness of the outer polyvinyl butyral layer, selective ethanol penetration but a water barrier is enabled. Notably, the composite photonic films are free-standing, highly flexible, and controllably structurally colored. We further present using the composite film to quantitatively trace ethanol/water mixtures and potentially track drunk driving as a colorimetric sensor. The heuristic two-step modification strategy proposed in this work not only overcomes the limitation of water interference for hydrophilic colorimetric sensors but also provides references to develop more new photonic materials with water resistance that need to be applied in water/humid environments.