A new strategy for structural color fabrics: Transfer of photonic crystal coatings from slides to fabrics

The construction of three-dimensional photonic crystals on textile surfaces has emerged as a highly effective method to create fabrics with structural color, generating significant interest among researchers. However, the strict requirements of the substrate fabrics and the challenges associated with patterning coatings for bright structural colors have hindered the widespread application of photonic crystal materials in the textile industry. In this study, we present a strategy for obtaining patterned structural color coatings on fabrics made of different materials. Pre-crystallized poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate-acrylic acid) (P(St-MMA-AA)) liquid photonic crystals (LPCs) are used as raw material for the rapid preparation of solid photonic crystals (SPCs). These SPCs with structural colors are used as templates and transferred to various fabrics through transfer printing techniques. Importantly, the SPCs maintain an ordered face-centered cubic structure both before and after transfer. Such a feature ensures that the processed structural color fabrics exhibit vibrant and iridescent structural colors. This result is achieved by modification of the substrate fabric with viscous polymer and the intact retention of SPCs. The sandwich structure formed by the adhesive polymer on the base fabric and the encapsulation of the film-forming material on the SPCs imparts good stability to the structural color fabric. It is worth noting that patterned photonic crystal coatings can be easily obtained on the fabrics made of different materials (cotton, linen, wool, and silk fabrics) by manipulating the shape of the viscous polymer. Additionally, a wide range of common materials, such as paper, wood, steel, and others, can be used as target substrates. This novel dyeing strategy not only offers new ideas for preparing patterned structural color fabrics but also further promotes the application of photonic crystal materials in textile printing or display.