Physics

Structural coloration

Structural stability

Nanotechnology

Nanostructure

Structural engineering

Photonic crystal

Optics

Engineering

Artificial intelligence

Biomimetics

Materials science

Photonics

Illuminance

Computer science

Artificial light

Light energy

Optoelectronics

The Innovation

Structural colors are colors generated by the interaction between incident light and nanostructures. Structural colors have been studied for decades due to their promising advantages of long-term stability and environmentally friendly properties compared with conventional pigments and dyes. Previous studies have demonstrated many artificial structural colors inspired by naturally generated colors from plants and animals. Moreover, many strategies consisting of different principles have been reported to achieve dynamically tunable structural colors. Furthermore, the artificial structural colors can have multiple functions besides decoration, such as absorbing solar energy, anti-counterfeiting, and information encryption. In the present work, we reviewed the typical artificial structural colors generated by multilayer films, photonic crystals, and metasurfaces according to the type of structures, and discussed the approaches to achieve dynamically tunable structural colors.

Artificial Structural Colors and Applications