Structural Color Materials from Natural Polymers

Structural color materials have existed in nature for millions of years. Natural polymers constitute biological structural colors and provide an excellent resource for fabricating artificial structural color materials. Through either top-down or bottom-up methods, natural polymers could be processed into intricate micro/nano-structures and show unique photonic features; the resultant materials and devices find applications in a wide range of fields, including optical display, sensing, anti-counterfeiting, organ-on-a-chip, microcarriers, etc. In this review, the latest progress about structural color materials generated from natural polymers is provided. After introducing typical polymers involved in the biological structural coloration, artificial structural color materials derived from natural polymers, including their biomimetic design, fabrication, and application are summarized. The remaining challenges and future research prospects of this remarkable field are also discussed. It is believed that this review would accelerate the development of biomimetics, optics, and materials science.

Automated summary

Natural polymers can be processed into intricate micro/nano-structures with unique photonic features to fabricate artificial structural color materials through different methods. These materials find applications in various fields such as optical display, sensing, anti-counterfeiting, and organ-on-a-chip. The challenges and future research prospects in this remarkable field should be further explored.