Scalable, Ultra-resistant Structural Colors Based on Network Metamaterials

A team that includes scientists from the Laboratory for Nanometallurgy is the first to use materials with a network-like structure to create a full spectrum of intense colours. The principle has long existed in nature: for example, in the colourful plumage of a particular species of bird in South America.

by Marc Roland Petitmermet
Aluminium oxide
The material’s colour depends on the thickness of the aluminium oxide coating. The pores in the alloy range in size from 10 to 35 nanometres. (Visualisations: Galinski et al. 2016, adapted)
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