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Sharp scattering spectra induced brilliant and directional structural colors

强散射作用产生的艳丽方向性结构色

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Abstract

Structural color materials, which generate colors through the interaction between light and nano-microstructures, have always been research hotspots in the fields of display, anticounterfeiting and stimuli-responsive materials. Structural colors based on scattering have received increasing attention due to their wider viewing angles than that originating from the specular reflection of photonic crystals. However, the wide scattering spectrum of an amorphous structure leads to lower purity and brightness of the appeared colors. Few researchers have focused on the scattering of ordered structures due to their strong reflection and diffraction in the visible regions. In this work, by building ordered films (OFs) using SiO2 spheres (refractive index n = 1.46) with a diameter of 300–500 nm, for the first time, sharp scattering spectra with narrow full width at half-maximum (FWHM, 24 nm) were generated. Importantly, under ambient light, brilliant colors covering the entire visible region can be observed, and a formula was proposed to calculate the scattering spectra of OFs. Moreover, rainbow structural color was realized under irradiation of the nonparallel light, and full-spectrum structural color patterns were fabricated using building blocks with a single particle size by a spraying method. Finally, a composite structure was constructed to explore possibilities in the field of flexible transparent displays.

摘要

通过光与微纳结构相互作用产生颜色的结构生色材料一直是显示、 防伪和刺激响应材料领域研究的热点. 与光子晶体生色的镜面反射特性相比, 基于散射的结构生色具有更宽的可视角, 因此受到越来越多的关注. 无序结构产生的宽散射光谱往往导致其结构色纯度和亮度降低, 而有序结构在可见光区一般具有强的反射和衍射作用, 因此很少有研究者关注有序结构的散射结构色. 本研究利用粒径为300–500 nm 的SiO2微球(折射率 n = 1.46)构建有序结构薄膜(OF), 首次获得了具有窄半峰宽(FWHM, 24 nm)的尖锐散射光谱, 并提出了有序SiO2薄膜散射光谱的计算公式. 有序结构在自然光下即可以观察到鲜艳的结构色, 既无需光源照射, 也无需在镜面角下观察. 此外, 在非平行光(点光源)照射下有序无序结构均可产生渐变彩虹结构色. 最后, 利用单一粒径微球通过喷涂法构筑了全光谱的结构色图案, 并利用SiO2微球制备了透明复合结构, 探索了其在柔性透明显示领域应用的可能性.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21878042, 21476040 and 21276040) and the Fund for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China Committee of Science (21421005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Zhipeng Meng  (孟志鹏), Yue Wu  (吴越), Shufen Zhang  (张淑芬) & Suli Wu  (武素丽)

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  1. Zhipeng Meng  (孟志鹏)
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  2. Yue Wu  (吴越)
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  3. Shufen Zhang  (张淑芬)
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  4. Suli Wu  (武素丽)
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Contributions

Author contributions Meng Z, Wu Y, Zhang S and Wu S designed the samples; Meng Z performed the experiments; Meng Z wrote the paper with support from Wu S. All authors contributed to the general discussion.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suli Wu  (武素丽).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Zhipeng Meng received his bachelor degree in engineering from Qingdao University of Science and Technology in 2016, He is currently pursuing his PhD degree at the State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals at Dalian University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Suli Wu. His research focuses on photonic crystals and structural color materials.

Suli Wu earned her BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees from Dalian University of Technology in 1996, 1999, and 2007, respectively. She joined the faculty of Dalian University of Technology in 2007. During 2014–2015, she worked as a visiting scholar in the group of Prof. Xiaogang Liu at the National University of Singapore. She then became a professor at Dalian University of Technology in 2017. Her interests include lanthanide-doped optical nanomaterials, quantum dots, photonic crystals, and their applications in sensors, solar cells, and display devices.

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Meng, Z., Wu, Y., Zhang, S. et al. Sharp scattering spectra induced brilliant and directional structural colors. Sci. China Mater. 64, 420–429 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-020-1402-x

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