Self-assembly of colloidal Poly(St-MMA-AA) core/shell photonic crystals with tunable structural colors of the full visible spectrum

Abstract

This study used the copolymer emulsion method to synthesize colloidal monodisperse core/shell microspheres composed of the poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate-co-acrylic acid) [Poly(St-MMA-AA)]. Colloidal photonic crystal (CPhC) films have prepared by using polymer composite microspheres and successfully fabricated via natural sedimentation. The synthesized results of polymer composite microsphere exhibited uniform and good morphology. The resultant of CPhC color films demonstrated vividly structural colors due to 3D CPhC nanostructures. The structural colors over full visible spectra could be tuned by controlling the filling factor of crystals and diameter of microspheres according to the Bragg law. Additionally, the structural color of Poly(St-MMA-AA) CPhC films has measured under the standard colorimetric system. This study demonstrated a approach to fabricate tunable structural color for numerous applications.