Photocleavable Gel Platforms for Time-Gated Information Encryption and Decryption

• • UV irradiation cleaves hydrophobic NA units, generating orange-colored NSBA and hydrophilic acrylic acid groups, enabling dual optical and hydrophilicity switching for information writing. • • Information encryption is achieved by dissolving NSBA in DMSO, rendering the pattern invisible; decryption occurs upon water immersion, with phase separation kinetics dependent on irradiation time. • • Time-gated decryption is demonstrated: correct information is recognizable only within a specific time window (e.g., >30 min in water causes pattern blurring), enhancing security. • • The gel platform exhibits multi-stage phase transitions, overcoming the binary limitations of conventional gels, as evidenced by controlled transmittance changes in different irradiation zones.