Structural Colors Go Active

Structural colors find wide applications for color printing, intelligent display, filtering imaging, etc., owing to their benefits, including high resolution, stable properties, and dynamic tunability. This review first illustrates the mechanisms of structural color generation, such as surface plasmon resonances, localized surface plasmon resonances, Fabry-Perot resonances, Mie resonances, etc. It then proposes the recent technological strategies employed to realize dynamic structural colors. The integration of structural colors with functional materials like phase-change, along with the development of color dynamic control mechanisms such as microfluidic chips, micro-electro-mechanical system drivers, and microheaters, represents key approaches for spectrum regulation. Furthermore, the review assesses the performance, advantages, and limitations of various technologies for dynamic structural colors. Finally, this review concluded with a section on the future challenges and prospects in large-area fabrication, practical applications, and performance improvement. It explains the current typical applications, including smart windows, adaptive camouflage, sensors, etc., and explores the processing methods that can achieve large-area, high-fidelity preparation of structural colors, such as nanoimprint, deep ultraviolet lithography, immersion lithography, laser printing, etc. This field promises advancements in high-density data storage, information encryption, and broader market applications.