Recoverable Photolithographic Patterning for Polarized Display and Encryption

Abstract Anisotropic plasmonic nanostructures have attracted significant attention in recent years because of their unique optical properties and potential applications in holograms, thermotherapy, and information encoding. Herein, a gold nanorods/photoactive hydrogel system with excellent mechanical and photoreactive recoverability is developed. Multiscale engineering exploits the synergy among components to endow the system with rapid self‐healing ability, repetitive photolithographic capability, robust mechanical properties, and 3D printability, enabling multiple encoding routes including polarized patterns based on depolarization under UV‐lithography, polarized patterns by direct ink writing, invisible patterns through increased light absorption by depolarization, and thermal imaging patterns by anisotropic photothermal effects. This approach provides a facile and sustainable method for polarized patterning, thereby contributing to smart devices for applications in display, information encryption, and anti‐counterfeiting.