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Structural Color (structural + color)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Polymers and Materials Science	83%

Selected Abstracts

Cover Picture: Assembly of Wiseana Iridovirus: Viruses for Colloidal Photonic Crystals (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 8 2006
Mater.
Abstract Assembly of colloids is a versatile tool for micro- and nanofabrication. Natural and artificially engineered viruses offer the opportunity to expand the functionality and versatility of such assemblies. The cover shows optically iridescent, thin polycrystalline arrays (background) as well as bulk pellets (inset right) that exhibit reversible hydration-dependent reflection spectra, as reported by Vaia and co-workers on p.,1086. The films and pellets were created in vitro with classical colloid-assembly techniques from Wiseana iridescent virus (inset, center) harvested from infected Wiseana spp larvae (inset, left). In,vitro assembly of Wiseana iridescent virus (WIV) yields iridescent pellets and films with structural color more vivid than in the native insect. WIV is icosahedral in shape, 140,nm in diameter, with 30,nm long fibrils attached to the outer surface, and exhibits a surface charge ca.,1/6th that of a comparable polymer colloid. The low surface charge and tethered chains on the virus surface allow the facile modification of the interparticle distance. Directed sedimentation yields predominantly an amorphous liquid-like packing of the virus. Such samples exhibit a broad reflection band that is angle independent and for which the broad maximum can be reversibly shifted from blue towards red with increased hydration. Slow sedimentation and flow-assisted assembly methods produce thin films with a polycrystalline morphology that exhibit narrower, more intense reflectivity peaks, which are hydration and angle dependent. This study points toward the potential of viral particles for photonic crystals where their unique structural features (icosahedral symmetry, extreme monodispersity, precise surface functionalization, and tethered surface chains of low surface-charge density) may lead to superior control of optical properties of their assembled arrays. [source]

An Electro- and Thermochromic Hydrogel as a Full-Color Indicator,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 19 2007
K. Ueno
Electric-field-triggered "two-state switching" between two arbitrary structural colors (see figure) in the entire visible region at certain temperatures is shown by a stimuli-responsive chromic hydrogel. The external rapid tuning in the structural color of this hydrogel is successfully achieved by introducing a periodically ordered interconnecting porous structure. [source]

Structural colored gels for tunable soft photonic crystals

THE CHEMICAL RECORD, Issue 2 2009
Mohammad Harun-ur-Rashid
Abstract A periodically ordered interconnecting porous structure can be embodied in chemical gels by using closest-packed colloidal crystals as templates. The interconnecting porosity not only provides a quick response but also endows the porous gels with structural color arising from coherent Bragg optical diffraction. The structural colors revealed by porous gels can be regulated by several techniques, and thus, it is feasible to obtain desirable, smart, soft materials. A well-known thermosensitive monomer, N -isopropylacrylamide (NIPA), and other minor monomers were used to fabricate various structural colored gels. The selection of minor monomers depended on the targeted properties. This review focuses on the synthesis of templates, structural colored porous gels, and the applications of structural colored gel as smart soft materials for tunable photonic crystals. © 2009 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 9: 87,105; 2009: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.20169 [source]

Tunable Colors in Opals and Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2010
Carlos I. Aguirre
Abstract Colloidal photonic crystals and materials derived from colloidal crystals can exhibit distinct structural colors that result from incomplete photonic band gaps. Through rational materials design, the colors of such photonic crystals can be tuned reversibly by external physical and chemical stimuli. Such stimuli include solvent and dye infiltration, applied electric or magnetic fields, mechanical deformation, light irradiation, temperature changes, changes in pH, and specific molecular interactions. Reversible color changes result from alterations in lattice spacings, filling fractions, and refractive index of system components. This review article highlights the different systems and mechanisms for achieving tunable color based on opaline materials with close-packed or non-close-packed structural elements and inverse opal photonic crystals. Inorganic and polymeric systems, such as hydrogels, metallopolymers, and elastomers are discussed. [source]

Guanine-Based Biogenic Photonic-Crystal Arrays in Fish and Spiders

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 2 2010
Avital Levy-Lior
Abstract Biological photonic systems composed of anhydrous guanine crystals evolved separately in several taxonomic groups. Here, two such systems found in fish and spiders, both of which make use of anhydrous guanine crystal plates to produce structural colors, are examined. Measurements of the photonic-crystal structures using cryo-SEM show that the crystal plates in both fish skin and spider integument are ,20-nm thick. The reflective unit in the fish comprises stacks of single plates alternating with ,230-nm-thick cytoplasm layers. In the spiders the plates are formed as doublet crystals, cemented by 30-nm layers of amorphous guanine, and are stacked with ,200,nm of cytoplasm between crystal doublets. They achieve light reflective properties through the control of crystal morphology and stack dimensions, reaching similar efficiencies of light reflectivity in both fish skin and spider integument. The structure of guanine plates in spiders are compared with the more common situation in which guanine occurs in the form of relatively unorganized prismatic crystals, yielding a matt white coloration. [source]