Laser-induced locally controllable craze-like microstructures for polymer white structural coloration

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Optics

Background:

• White structural color is a promising inkless coloring method, but current preparation techniques for disordered micro/nanostructures are complex and expensive.
• Efficient and large-scale production of these structures remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an ingenious and cost-effective method for realizing white structural color.
• To explore the potential of laser-induced craze-like microstructures in core-shell polymer fibers.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of core-shell microfibers with copper nanowires (CuNWs) as the core and polyformaldehyde (POM) as the shell via in situ fibrillation.
• Laser direct writing (LDW) technique to induce craze-like microstructures (micro/nanofibrils and micropores) in the polymers.
• Characterization of the optical properties of the induced microstructures.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated CuNWs@POM core-shell microfibers.
• Demonstrated facile, efficient, inexpensive, controllable, and environmentally friendly LDW for creating craze-like microstructures.
• Observed distinct white structural color due to broadband visible light reflection from disordered microstructures.

Conclusions:

• The study presents a novel approach for achieving white structural color using laser-induced craze-like microstructures in polymer-based core-shell microfibers.
• This method offers a scalable and cost-effective alternative to existing techniques.
• The findings provide new insights into utilizing crazing phenomena for advanced optical applications.