Chapter 4. Biomimetics of Structural Colours: Materials, Methods and Applications

Abstract

Structural coloration is a visible consequence of the patterning of a reflecting surface with regular nanostructures. Structural colours usually appear bright, shiny, iridescent or with a metallic look as a result of physical processes such as diffraction, interference, or scattering. Many biological materials exhibit such colours, originating from a strikingly wide variety of microarchitectures that have been precisely optimised by natural selection. The biomimicry of these materials has recently attracted much research effort in materials science, chemistry, engineering and physics. After detailing the physical principles behind structural colours, we review the techniques and materials employed to fabricate nature-inspired, colour-producing nanostructures. We also present recent advances in scaling up the production of these new materials, as well as some of their current and potential applications.