Tunable Structural Colors with ‘Light‐Lossy’ MXene Paints
Abstract
Abstract Thin‐film interference with a Fabry–Pérot cavity is a classic approach to generating structural colors for anti‐counterfeiting, sensors, and aesthetical demands. However, an absorbing layer capable of balancing the reflectance and absorption bands remains elusive, thereby limiting the chromatic and luminant tunability of structural coloration. Here wide‐color‐gamut films are reported with MXene as the absorbing layer in a simple trilayer configuration for vivid structural colors, outperforming conventional metal‐ and semiconductor‐based films. It is demonstrated that the ‘lossy’ refractive indices of different metallic MXene compositions broaden the absorption bandwidth of multilayer films and maintain the high reflectance, enabling a substantial and complementary gamut with high tunability beyond the area of sRGB color space. Various structural color films/patterns based on MXenes showcase the compatibility for different scenarios. The results accompanied by theoretical calculations provide insights into the fundamental understanding of light‐MXene interaction in coloration. The unique optical absorbance and solution processibility of the MXene family offer a versatile platform for the physical manipulation of light beyond conventional manufacturing approaches.
Article Details
Authors (12)
Mingqing Zhang
Dongjie Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 200083 China
Yu Zhang
Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha China
Huanchen Yu
Institute of Optoelectronics & College of Future Information Technology Shanghai Frontiers Science Research Base of Intelligent Optoelectronics and Perception and State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology Fudan University Shanghai 200433 China
Zhengji Wen
State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 200083 China
Xiao Dai
Institute of Optoelectronics & College of Future Information Technology Shanghai Frontiers Science Research Base of Intelligent Optoelectronics and Perception and State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology Fudan University Shanghai 200433 China
Kun Ba
Yunxiang Di
Tong Shu
Jianlu Wang
Jiaming Hao
Institute of Optoelectronics & College of Future Information Technology Shanghai Frontiers Science Research Base of Intelligent Optoelectronics and Perception and State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology Fudan University Shanghai 200433 China
Meikang Han
Institute of Optoelectronics, College of Future Information Technology, State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology, Shanghai Frontiers Science Research Base of Intelligent Optoelectronics and Perception Fudan University Shanghai China