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Rapid and Tunable Method To Fabricate Angle-Independent and Transferable Structurally Colored Films
Leopoldo Torres1, Artemis Margaronis2, Bianca M Bellato Meinhardt2
1Fischell Department of Bioengineering , University of Maryland , Room 3102 A, James Clark Hall, 8278 Paint Branch Drive , College Park , Maryland 20742 , United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|January 22, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a fast, tunable method for creating pliable, non-fading colloidal materials with angle-independent structural color. This technique uses centrifugation to assemble silica particles, offering precise color control for various applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Colloid Science
Background:
- Colloidal arrays offer angle-independent structural color, resisting fading.
- Noniridescent materials are ideal for paints, inks, cosmetics, and displays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a rapid, tunable assembly method for noniridescent, structurally colored colloidal materials.
- To create pliable materials with angle-independent structural color after fabrication.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of structurally colored particle arrays via centrifugation of silica particles in deionized water.
- Tuning color by adjusting particle diameter, concentration, centrifugal rate, and assembly time.
- Assembly of colloidal films in polymer solutions using centrifugation.
Main Results:
- Achieved tunable structural color across the visible spectrum by controlling particle diameter.
- Precisely controlled diffracted color (within 50 nm) by modulating particle concentration.
- Demonstrated angle-independent structural color in pliable, transferable colloidal films.
Conclusions:
- Centrifugation offers a versatile method for assembling colloidal films with tunable, angle-independent structural color.
- The developed technique provides design considerations for creating advanced structural color materials.
- The pliable and transferable nature of the fabricated films broadens their application potential.
