Low angle-dependent structural colours from redispersion of silica photonic crystal film

Abstract

Structural colour has attracted more and more attentions owing to its advantages of non-fading, environment friendly and non-toxic. According to its behaviour with respect to the viewing angle, there are two groups: iridescent (angle-dependent) and nor iridescent (angle-independent). However, many applications in textile and fashion require stable colour which means the colour shows low angle dependent. In this work, 314nm silica nanoparticle was synthesized by using a solvent varying technic which based on Stöber method. Iridescent structurally coloured film was directly self-assembled by gravity sedimentation of silica nanoparticle. Then, film was triturated and redispersed by ultrasonic dispersion process. Low angle-dependent structurally coloured film was then obtained by the redispersed silica nanoparticles. The effect of redispersion time on the structural colours was studied. The result shows that a twenty-minute redispersion gives a less bright but low angle-dependent structural colour film.