The present invention relates to functional structures that include a substrate and a first fixing agent applied to the substrate. The first fixing agent includes an aqueous polymer. The functional structure also includes a functional material that is adjacent to the first fixing agent. A second fixing agent is adjacent to the functional material. The first fixing agent may be a hydrophilic solution including an aqueous polymer selected from polyvinyl alcohol and a cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol. The aqueous polymers may have molecular weights from 1,500,000 to 4,000,000.