Light‐based Three‐Dimensional Printing of Complex‐Shaped Photonic Colloidal Glasses

Abstract

AbstractColloidal glasses display angle‐independent structural color that is tunable by the size and local arrangement of submicron particles. While films, droplets and microcapsules with isotropic structural color have been demonstrated, the shaping of colloidal glasses in three dimensions remains an open manufacturing challenge. Here, we report a light‐based printing platform for the shaping of colloidal glasses into three‐dimensional objects featuring complex geometries and vivid structural color after thermal treatment. Rheology, photopolymerization and calcination experiments are performed to design the photoreactive resins leading to printable colloidal glasses. With the help of microscopy, scattering and optical characterization, we show that the photonic properties of the printed objects reflect the locally ordered microstructure of the glass. The capability of the platform in creating three‐dimensional objects with isotropic structural color is illustrated by printing lattices and miniaturized sculpture replicas with unique shapes and multimaterial designs.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved