#DRAWING LIGHT TABLE WINDOWS#

(A schematic picture of a SeedGel is shown in Supplementary Fig.

Particles are jammed in the particle domain, which facilitates the enrichment of the solvent component that particles favor. Different from bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (Bijels), where particles have neutral wettability for both components in a binary solvent, particles in SeedGel favor one component of a binary solvent that results in gels consisting of alternating micrometer-sized bicontinuous domains: the particle domain and the solvent domain. Nanoparticles dispersed in a binary solvent can thermo-reversibly assemble into solid bicontinuous structures by forming solvent segregation-driven gel (SeedGel) in a scalable, reproducible, and tunable manner 27, 28. It is a promising candidate for use in various stimuli-responsive photonic devices and may inspire new classes of structural-color materials.ĭynamically tunable coloration of SeedGel Thus, this approach is versatile with great tunability and the process can be easily scaled up. In addition, the material fabrication is based on the kinetically trapped phase separation of the binary solvent by nanoparticles. It is a general method to manage light transmission with a narrow transmitted bandwidth. It also enables finely adjustable dynamic color response over an extensive range of wavelengths extending well beyond the visible light spectrum. We report here a previously unrecognized approach that precisely controls the structural color and light transmission via a novel photonic colloidal gel without long-range order. Some recent applications of structure-colored materials based on the Christiansen effect to realize dynamic tunability in transmitted light are also limited in terms of the range and flexibility of the tunability 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26. Structural color via controlling transmitted lights represents a significantly less explored alternative to scattering 16, 17, 18, despite its advantage in many vital applications, such as smart windows, optical filters, and displays 7, 19, 20, 21, 22. However, the extent of these responses is often limited, placing a stringent constraint on the materials’ sensitivity and tunable wavelength range. The responses to stretching 11, 12, temperature 13, moisture/UV 14, and PH 15 can directly translate to color change. Thus, the dynamic coloration of these structure-colored materials is conventionally achieved by altering the structure size to control the wavelength of scattered light. In many structure-colored materials, solid building blocks (e.g., particles) need to be arranged into periodical structures with dimensions comparable to the wavelength of visible light (hundreds of nanometers). Light scattering, reflection, and deflection are typical processes that are commonly observed in structural color 10. Structural color results from the pure physical interaction between light and materials (in contrast to absorption), where light does not exchange energy with a sample 10. They are also commonly found in natural materials, such as bird feathers and flower petals 8, 9.

#DRAWING LIGHT TABLE WINDOWS#

In the past decades, photonic devices have attracted substantial attention due to their ability to control light flow, with applications such as structural coloration 1, smart windows 2, optical switches 3, reflective displays 4, and memories 5.Īmong various optical materials, structure-colored materials have generated broad interest due to their versatility of color control, vivid color effects, long-term durability, and resistance to photobleaching 6, 7. Ever since ancient Mesopotamia, color has occupied a unique place in human civilization.

Drawing light table