Superdurable and fire-retardant structural coloration of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising candidates for numerous cutting-edge fields because of their excellent properties. However, the inherent black color of CNTs cannot satisfy the aesthetic/fashion requirement, and the flammability of CNTs severely restricts their application in high-temperature environments with oxygen. Here, we realized a structural coloration of CNTs by coating them with amorphous TiO 2 layers. By tuning the TiO 2 coating thickness, both CNT fibers and membranes exhibited controllable and brilliant colors, which exhibited remarkable superdurability that could endure 2000 cycles of laundering tests and more than 10 months of high-intensity ultraviolet irradiation. The TiO 2 -coated CNTs exhibited a notable fire-retardant performance and could endure 8 hours of fire burning. The structural coloration of CNTs with excellent fire retardance substantially improves their performance and broadens their applications.