Hybrid polysaccharide film infused with polyoxometalates for inkless printing and solar ultraviolet sensing

Muzammal Hussain; Zaheer Ahmad; Onome Ejeromedoghene; Khurram Shehzad; Muhammad Akhtar; Guodong Fu

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.139308

Hybrid polysaccharide film infused with polyoxometalates for inkless printing and solar ultraviolet sensing

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jan 1:139308. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.139308. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Muzammal Hussain¹, Zaheer Ahmad², Onome Ejeromedoghene³, Khurram Shehzad⁴, Muhammad Akhtar⁵, Guodong Fu⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Southeast University, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 211189, PR China.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Wah, Quaid Avenue, Wah Cantt 47040, Pakistan.
³ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 215123 Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
⁵ School of Transportation Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 211100, PR China.
⁶ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Southeast University, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 211189, PR China. Electronic address: 101010855@seu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39753166
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.139308

Abstract

Inkless paper made from photochromic materials has garnered significant interest owing to its potential to reduce both ink and paper pollution during production. In this research, we synthesized a dual-material film (EC-PVP/PGMEA/PMoA) and conducted a detailed investigation of its photochromic response to visible light and its microstructural properties. Initially, the film appeared as a translucent yellow, but upon exposure to visible light, it shifted to blue with a maximum absorption peak of 2.04 a.u. The film returned to its stable yellow state either by heating at 100 °C for 1 h or by being kept in the dark at RT conditions for 20 days, aided by PGMEA. The film's hydrophobicity decreased, attributed to PEG, and its hydrophilicity was confirmed by a reduction in water contact angle from 69.9° to 37.8°. XPS and ESR analyses revealed a Mo⁵⁺ ratio of 0.42 and a signal at g = 2.017, indicating proton transfer and photo reductive interactions between PMoA particles and the EC-PVP/PGMEA matrix. This innovative study underscores the hybrid film's potential for applications in inkless printing and UV solar detection.

Keywords: Ethyl cellulose; Phosphomolybdic acid; Photo responsive; Polyvinylpyrrolidone; Propylene glycol 1-monomethyl ether 2-acetate.