Structural colouration on textile fabrics with thin-film coating via magnetron sputtering: A review

An increasing number of textiles is being functionalized using magnetron sputtering. A wide spectrum of colors can be produced by coating thin films on textiles via magnetron sputtering, which reduces pollution issues by bypassing the high requirements of water, chemical dyes, and auxiliary setups of traditional textile dyeing. By covering single-layer, double-layer, or multilayer films with metal, semiconductor, or ceramic targets possessing a particular structure, composition, thickness, and morphology using the magnetron sputtering method, metallic colors or interference structural colors have been successfully produced on textile surfaces. Intelligent, decorative, and practical products use coated colors and other features. Herein, we review the research advancements in textile coloring and applications of colored textiles coated by sputtering, including the sputter deposition technique, color-generating mechanism, and principles of the color regulation of sputtered thin films. The difficulties and future directions for research on colored sputtered thin films in textiles is also summarized.