Recent advances in photonic crystal with unique structural colors: A review

Inspired by special color-forming organisms in nature, photonic crystal materials with structural color function have been developed significantly with great potential applications for displays, sensors, anti -counterfeiting inks, etc. This review aims to summarize the functions, self-assembly modes, and ap-plications of different kinds of photonic crystal materials. The preparation methods and characteristics of monodisperse inorganic nanoparticles, polymer nanoparticles, inorganic/organic core-shell nanoparti-cles, and MOFs are discussed. Subsequently, we summarize the method of assembling colloidal parti-cles into photonic crystals, which is a template induction method, inkjet printing method, drop coating method, etc. Moreover, the potential application of structural color is presented including humidity re-sponse and magnetic field response in sensors fields, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of anti -counterfeiting, fabric coloring, displays, smart windows, and Biomedical Applications. Finally, we present the development prospects and key problems of photonic crystals.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

This review summarizes the functions, self-assembly modes, and applications of different kinds of photonic crystal materials. The preparation methods and characteristics of various types of nanoparticles and MOFs are discussed. The method of assembling colloidal particles into photonic crystals is summarized. The potential applications of structural color in sensors, anti-counterfeiting, fabric coloring, displays, and biomedical fields are presented, along with the development prospects and key problems of photonic crystals.