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Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-03-13 Origin: Site
With the continuous development of green materials and functional material technology, structural color ( Structural Color ) has gradually become an important direction in the research of new generation optical materials. Different from traditional coloring methods that rely on chemical pigments or dyes, structural color is a color formed by the reflection, diffraction and interference of light by the micro-nanostructure inside the material. Therefore, it has the advantages of environmental protection, stability and controllability. In recent years, the natural bio-based material nanocellulose ( Nanocellulose ) has shown great application potential in the field of structural color materials due to its unique nanostructure and excellent self-assembly properties.
Structural color is an optical phenomenon produced by the microstructure of a material. Its color is derived from the interaction between light and periodic structures, rather than the color produced by the absorption spectrum of chemical pigments. Many creatures in nature use structural color to create bright visual effects, such as butterfly wings, peacock feathers, and some beetle shells.
The formation of structural colors is usually related to the following optical effects:
light interference effect
diffraction effect of light
Bragg reflection
photonic crystal structure
Structural color materials offer several advantages over traditional dyes:
Color is stable and not easy to fade
Does not rely on chemical dyes and is more environmentally friendly
Color can be controlled through structural design
Responsive to environmental changes
Therefore, structural color materials have broad application prospects in the fields of optical devices, anti-counterfeiting technology, intelligent sensing, and green packaging materials .
Nanocellulose is a nanoscale fiber material obtained by mechanical or chemical treatment of natural cellulose, which usually includes the following types:
type | Structural features | Size range |
Cellulose Nanocrystals ( CNC) | Highly crystalline, rigid rod-like structure | Diameter 5–20 nm |
Cellulose Nanofibers ( CNF) | Long fiber network structure | Diameter 10–50 nm |
Bacterial Cellulose ( BC) | Three-dimensional nanonetwork structure | 20–100 nm |
Nanocellulose has a series of excellent properties:
High specific surface area
High mechanical strength
Good dispersion stability
Can form three-dimensional network structure
Naturally sourced and biodegradable
Among them, cellulose nanocrystals ( CNC ) have unique liquid crystal self-assembly capabilities and can form a periodic spiral arrangement structure. This structure can selectively reflect light of specific wavelengths, thereby forming structural colors.
When cellulose nanocrystals reach a certain concentration in an aqueous solution, self-assembly of the chiral nematic liquid crystal phase ( Chiral Nematic Phase ) will occur . In this structure, the nanocellulose is periodically arranged in a spiral shape, forming a structure similar to natural photonic crystals.
This periodic structure can selectively reflect light, and its reflection wavelength is closely related to the spiral period ( Pitch ):
Shorter pitch → reflect blue light
Moderate pitch → reflect green light
Longer pitch → reflect red light
Structural color control can be achieved by adjusting the following parameters:
Nanocellulose concentration
electrolyte concentration
Drying speed
Add polymers or nanoparticles
Surface chemical modification
Therefore, nanocellulose can be used as a designable natural photonic crystal material to construct green structural color systems.
Nanocellulose structural color films have obvious angle-dependent color changes that are difficult to copy, so they have important application value in the field of anti-counterfeiting, such as:
High-end anti-counterfeiting labels
Anti-counterfeiting of currency and bills
luxury packaging
Compared with traditional anti-counterfeiting technology, nanocellulose structural color materials have the advantages of environmental protection, safety and sustainability .
Nanocellulose structural color materials are very sensitive to environmental changes. For example, humidity, solvent vapor or temperature changes will cause changes in structural spacing, resulting in color changes. Therefore, it can be used for development:
humidity sensor
Gas detection materials
Biodetection sensor
This color-changing sensor has the advantage of being intuitive and requiring no power supply.
Structural color nanocellulose membranes can also be used in:
Green packaging materials
Building decoration materials
Functional coating
Environmentally friendly design products
Because it can produce color without adding dyes, it is of great significance in the field of sustainable material design.
Nanocellulose can also be composited with other functional materials, such as:
graphene
conductive polymer
metal nanoparticles
Form flexible optical composite materials for emerging fields such as flexible electronics, optical filters, and smart windows.
With the continuous development of bio-based materials and green manufacturing technology, research on nanocellulose in the field of structural color is gradually moving from basic research to industrial application. Future development directions mainly include:
Optimization of large-scale preparation technology
Improved structural color stability
Development of multifunctional composite materials
Intelligent responsive structural color materials
In this field, nanocellulose is not only a reinforcing material, but also a controllable optical functional material platform。
In recent years, domestic nanomaterials companies have also actively promoted the application and development of nanocellulose technology. For example, Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology Co., Ltd. has long been committed to the research, development and application promotion of nanocellulose materials, and continues to conduct technological exploration in nanocellulose dispersion systems, functional composite materials and new application fields. Through collaborative innovation with scientific research institutions and industrial partners, we will promote the application expansion of nanocellulose in the fields of optical materials, functional coatings and green materials.
As the demand for green materials continues to grow, nanocellulose structural color materials are expected to play an increasingly important role in the fields of sustainable optical materials, smart sensing, and high-end functional materials .
