Construction of Rainbow-like Structural Color Coatings on Wood Surfaces Based on Polystyrene Microspheres

Abstract

Polystyrene (PSt) microspheres were used to construct rainbow-like, seven-colored structural color coatings on wood surfaces by analyzing how the amount of emulsifier SDBS and emulsion polymerization temperature affected the particle size and monodispersity of the microspheres. The influence of both the amount of self-assembled emulsion coating used and the temperature on the reflected spectrum and the color of the coatings was investigated. It was found that the most monodisperse PSt microspheres were obtained when using 175 mg SDBS and a reaction temperature of 70 °C. By adjusting these two factors, we regulated the particle size of the PSt microspheres. When PSt microspheres were self-assembled on a wood surface to form a structural color coating, the best optical effect was obtained with 40.8 × 10−3 mL/cm2 emulsion amount and 50 °C ambient temperature. Finally, by changing the SDBS amount and reaction temperature, microspheres with different particle sizes and good monodispersity were prepared. The structural color was used to form patterned decorations on the wood surface, providing a technical basis for forming other structural color coatings on wood surfaces.