Organic micro/nanoscale materials for photonic barcodes

Photonic barcodes have attracted extensive attention due to their promising applications in multiplexed high throughput bioassays, item tracking, information security, etc. Organic luminescent materials, capable of assembling into various micro/nanostructures as a result of their outstanding processability, afford a fundamental model for designing novel micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes. In this highlight, we review recent advances in micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes based on organic materials. This highlight starts by introducing the significance of tiny photonic barcodes and discussing why organics have become dominant. Then we present the research progress on organic photonic barcodes in terms of a series of strategies including graphical encoding, spectroscopic encoding and a combination of them both. In the following part, we focus on the construction of covert photonic barcodes based on near-infrared luminescence and responsive excited state processes, which have shown great potential in advanced anti-counterfeiting. Finally, we present our views on the current challenges and the future development of organic micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes. We believe that a comprehensive understanding on this topic would significantly contribute to the advancement of organic photonic barcodes for a broad range of applications.