Tunable-color chiral liquid crystal film of cellulose nanocrystal with outstanding antibacterial and UV shielding capabilities for multifunction coating applications.

Chiral nematic cellulose crystals (CNCs) have presented broad application prospects in information encryption, sensing and coating field due to their properties of tunable structural color, birefringence and sustainability and renewability. However, the controllable regulation of structural colors and the incorporation of functionalities still pose challenges for practical applications. Herein, we propose a facile method utilizing plant polyphenols to regulate the pitch of chiral nematic liquid crystal films, thereby enabling precise control over the structural color.