Synthesis of Nano-crystalline (Red) Structurally Colored Ceramics
By Eva, Siwen
Introduction:
Our project aims to expand the fabrication of stable ceramic-based structural colors beyond the blue/green range of the visible light spectrum. We hypothesize that this can be done using a non-reflective material similar to the work of Li et al. who used liquid photonic crystals as a coating. A multi-layered computation model that incorporates single-particle scattering, structural resonance, multiple scattering, and full wave verification using a combination of Mie, S(q), RTE/MC, and FDTD will be used to first simulate the desired outcome and then fabricate the product through high-temperature crystallization.
Intellectual Merit:
Red has been difficult to fabricate as a stable, angle-independent structural color because of the internal "polluting" of blue wavelengths, which can dominate resonance. Other methods of reproducing red structural color has been done through colloidal and self assembly as well as atomic layer deposition. This project, combined with a recent 2024 study that was able to fabricate green/blue nano-structural color, would achieve a full spectrum method of ceramic-based structural color fabrication.
Broader Impact
Finding new ways to synthesize structural colors beyond red can open the doors to new possibilities in reducing the needs for artificial coloring that often is produced from petroleum byproducts and harms the planet, or natural dyes from rare earth metals or hard to find natural materials. Expanding the range of structural color can also open doors in industries that rely on color to be preserved for a long time, such as in art restoration, where having color that is immune to UV damage from destroying/ bleaching pigments off, or compounds in pigments that are reactive. Nanoparticles are topics of interest in industries that work with color.