All-Lignin Colloidal Particles Enable Structural Color and Photothermal Conversion.
Hai Liu1, Yanhua Guan1, Ruonan Wang1
1State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Materials, College of Light Industry and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|November 29, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed all-organic colloidal lignin particles (CLPs) for structural color and photothermal conversion. Tailoring CLP size optimizes near-infrared optical properties and photothermal efficiency, offering sustainable functional materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biomaterials
Background:
- Mimicking natural optical control is expanding into functional applications like photothermal conversion.
- Existing photonic structures primarily use metals and inorganic materials, lacking organic components.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a method for creating all-organic colloidal lignin particles (CLPs).
- To enable structural color and photothermal conversion using these novel organic particles.
Main Methods:
- Lignin aggregation facilitated by intermolecular and intramolecular interactions to form stable CLPs.
- Tailoring CLP particle size to achieve distinct optical behaviors and photothermal efficiencies.
- Multiscale simulations to analyze structural color, molecular interactions, and mesoscale photonic effects.
Main Results:
- Smaller CLPs exhibit blueshifted structural color, enhanced π-π stacking, and molecular conjugation.
- Mesoscale analysis shows enhanced Mie scattering and local electromagnetic field confinement.
- Synergistic coupling of π-conjugation and photonic field effects leads to efficient photothermal conversion.
Conclusions:
- This work introduces all-organic CLPs for tunable structural color and photothermal conversion.
- Mechanistic insights into photothermal conversion in organic photonic materials are provided.
- Informs the rational design of sustainable, functional colloidal amorphous arrays.
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