Optimizing Color Saturation in Colloidal Photonic Crystals by Control of Absorber Amount and Distribution

Bittner C, Bleyer G, Nees N, Carneiro M, Pflug L, Stingl M, Vogel N (2024)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Advanced Materials Interfaces WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA

Article Number: 2300986

DOI: 10.1002/admi.202300986

Abstract

Nanostructured materials that mimic structural coloration in nature can be synthetically created by colloidal self-assembly. To maximize optical effects, the natural world integrates melanin as a broadband absorber to remove incoherently scattered light. Polydopamine (PDA) is used as a synthetic analog of natural melanin to systematically investigate the influence of absorber quantity and distribution on color saturation in colloidal photonic crystals. The absorbing PDA is integrated into two distinct ways: homogenous colloidal crystals are produced from core–shell particles with incrementally increasing polydopamine shells, and heterogeneous colloidal crystals are formed by co-assembly of varying ratios of polystyrene (PS) and absorbing PS@PDA particles. The chromaticity is quantified by converting the measured spectra to reconstructed colors in the L*a*b* color sphere to identify structures with optimal color saturation. Simulations based on the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) indicate that a homogeneous absorber distribution is most efficient in creating saturated structural coloration. Experiments, however, demonstrate that the heterogeneous absorber incorporation outperforms the homogeneous strategies, as it allows for a more precise adjustment of the absorber content in the required concentration range. These results underline the importance of incorporating absorbers and indicate efficient ways in which colloidal photonic crystals with saturated structural colors can be prepared.

Authors with CRIS profile

Carina Bittner Lehrstuhl für Partikelsynthese Gudrun Bleyer Lehrstuhl für Partikelsynthese Nico Nees Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Mathematik (Kontinuierliche Optimierung) Lukas Pflug FAU Competence Center Scientific Computing (FAU CSC) Michael Stingl Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Mathematik (Kontinuierliche Optimierung) Nicolas Vogel Lehrstuhl für Partikelsynthese

Related research project(s)

The Genetic, Cellular, and Photonic Mechanisms of Avian Structural Colouration (EYESPOT) The Genetic, Cellular, and Photonic Mechanisms of Avian Structural Colouration Oct. 1, 2021 - Sept. 30, 2026

Involved external institutions

Universidade do Porto PT Portugal (PT)

How to cite

APA:

Bittner, C., Bleyer, G., Nees, N., Carneiro, M., Pflug, L., Stingl, M., & Vogel, N. (2024). Optimizing Color Saturation in Colloidal Photonic Crystals by Control of Absorber Amount and Distribution. Advanced Materials Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202300986

MLA:

Bittner, Carina, et al. "Optimizing Color Saturation in Colloidal Photonic Crystals by Control of Absorber Amount and Distribution." Advanced Materials Interfaces (2024).

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