Abstract
The concept of mimicking structural colour in nature as an alternative to traditional textile coloration techniques would reduce dependency on dyes, pigments and vast quantities of water in the textile supply chain. Structural colours originate from the physical interaction of light with nanoscale structures. This is exhibited in the bodies and wings of certain species of butterfly, beetles and plants. The angular optical effects of the Chrysina gloriosa beetle result from the periodicity due to the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) structure adopted by the cells in their exoskeleton. The optical properties of CLCs makes promising applications for optical sensors and anti-counterfeit materials. Application using inkjet printing technology enables designs to be tuned to meet product requirements, and with a hydrophobic treatment challenges associated with a rough surface such as textiles are overcome. Here we report inkjet printing CLC solutions onto hydrophobic pre-treated textiles. CIE L*a*b* values demonstrate the resultant colourful films display a greater degree of colour compared to those on untreated textiles.
Highlights
Traditional textile colouration techniques require the observed material to absorb various wavelengths of visible light through the use of colorants, pigments and dyes
The percentage re ectance data for 200 picolitres of blue cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) solution in Fig. 2(d) shows a signi cant difference in the re ectance values for treated and untreated textiles, along with the positioning of the peaks from the predicted wavelength of light (457 nm)
The percentage re ectance data for 200 picolitres of green CLC solution in Fig. 2(e) shows a signi cant difference in the re ectance values for treated and untreated textiles, the positioning of the peaks from the predicted wavelength of light (523 nm) are the same
Summary
Traditional textile colouration techniques require the observed material to absorb various wavelengths of visible light through the use of colorants, pigments and dyes. With cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC, known as chiral nematic LCs), half of incident unpolarized light is transmitted and the other half re ected. The orientation of the helix in these solutions, in relation to the substrate, is important Controlling this is o en known as alignment, de ning the so-called texture. The application of a liquid repellent uorochemical pre-treatment to the textile substrate could ensure the homogeneous alignment of the CLC pitches in the lms by creating a smooth surface
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