Efficient structural color from pigment-loaded nanostructures
Abstract
Color can originate from wavelength-dependence in the absorption of pigments or the scattering of nanostructures. While synthetic colors are dominated by the former, vivid structural colors found in nature have inspired much research on the latter. However, many of the most vibrant colors in nature involve the interactions of structure and pigment. Here, we demonstrate that pigment can be exploited to efficiently create bright structural color at wavelengths outside its absorption band.
Used in syntheses
Questions this source addresses
- How can we make structural color on a large scale?
- How closely can we copy the color-making structures found in nature?
- What tiny shapes can make colors out of light?
- Where do colors come from when there is no pigment?
- How does combining pigment with nanostructure suppress iridescence and expand the achievable gamut of non-iridescent colors, as seen in butterfly coloration?
- How does loading a Bragg reflector with beta-carotene pigment reduce the number of layers needed to reach high reflectance compared to a pigment-free structure?
- What role does sequential spin-coating of PVA and polystyrene layers play in fabricating efficient pigment-loaded Bragg reflectors?
- Why can pigment absorption inside a photonic structure boost reflectance at wavelengths that lie outside the pigment's own absorption band?