A flexible imprinted photonic resin film templated by nanocrystalline cellulose for naked-eye recognition of sulfonamides

An optical sulfonamides sensor is fabricated based on a molecular imprinted resin templated by nanocrystalline cellulose. A chiral nematic imprinted composite film is synthesized which is subsequently treated with removal of templates to generate a red reflecting photonic film. The film shows a naked-eye color response to sulfanilamide, which is related to reassemble imprinted sites in the chiral nematic structure, resulting in a yellow reflecting film. Upon exposure to various antibiotics, it can be simultaneously in selectively response to three sulfonamides. This strategy facilitates enormously potential application of the resin as battery-free and portative optical monitoring sensors.