Structural coloration and its application to textiles: a review

Structural coloration, where the microscopic structure of surfaces affects the behavior of light, has attracted growing attention across numerous application areas, especially textile engineering and dyeing. In this review, fundamental mechanisms, means of fabrication and recent progress regarding the structural coloration of textile fibers and fabrics is summarized, examining how it represents an alternate method to traditional chemical dyeing. The opportunities and challenges of applying structural coloration to textiles are discussed and effective strategies for the design and preparation of such textiles are assessed. It is concluded that there is a need for further work on the use of structural coloration with flexible textiles and the range of textiles to which it might be applied. It is also concluded that structural coloration is unlikely to completely replace traditional dyeing and that the scope for industrial application of the approach requires significant further research.