The research team has developed a method to produce anti-counterfeit tags based on periodic arrays of nanopillars that can be realized on any surfaces including textiles. Both overt and covert images can be created using patterns from hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanopillars domains taking advantage of the inkjet layer-by-layer assembly. The hidden images are then visualized for authenticity verification by fogging them with human breath. By utilizing scalable nanopillar arrays from polyurethane, this technology may also be less costly than other options.
This technology presents a reliable platform to make periodic, densely packed hole and pillary arrays with tunable optical and surface properties, which has many technological applications. Nanopillar technology offers a new tool to combat such large-scale economic problems such as counterfeit goods that affect the US economy. Preparation of wear-resistant nanopillar features on a wide range of common materials including fabric, glass, plastic, etc enables their wide-scale utilization capable of advancing other technologies besides counterfeit tags that include energy applications (e.g. self-cleaning durable coatings for solar cells) and biomedical technologies (e.g. anti-biofouling coatings).
Counterfeit goods account for billions of dollars lost worldwide; new solutions for this long-standing problem are urgently needed. We developed a method to produce anti-counterfeit tags based on periodic arrays of nanopillars that can be realized on any surfaces including textiles. Both overt and covert images can be created using patterns from hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanopillars domains taking advantage of the inkjet layer-by-layer assembly. The hidden images are easy to visualize for authenticity verification by fogging them with human breath. In the course of this project we evaluated various commercialization routes for this technology. We also further simplified the methods to create overt and images on nanopillars to reduce the cost of the production and to facilitate integration with the existing tracing methods used in different industries. The nanoscale features are impossible now to replicate without sophisticated microfabrication equipment, making counterfeit efforts more difficult than current approaches used by manufacturers such as laser printed labels, holograms, and trademarked logos. We also found that material of nanopillars has excellent wear-resilience allowing the nanopillars to withstand everyday handling. We identified three primary markets for this technology: consumer good, fashion designer labels, and medical products (anticancer, antidepression, and other drugs). The latest market segment appears to us the most promising for this technology. A provisional patent was filed to USPTO. The broader impact of this project has both economic and educational components. Nanopillar technology offers a new tool to combat such large-scale economic problems such as counterfeit goods that affect the US economy. The development of the business plan using methodology offered by NSF contributed significantly to the education of PhD students working in materials science in technology transfer and entrepreneurship.
