Dressing up like a peacock: Bright colors by nanotechnology

The best known colors are pigments. However, the very bright colors of the blue tarantula or peacock feathers do not result from pigments, but from nanostructures that cause the reflected light waves to overlap. This produces extraordinarily dynamic color effects.
Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now succeeded in replicating nanostructures that generate the same color irrespective of the viewing angle. According to the researchers, this could be a key first step towards a future where structural colorants replace the toxic pigments currently used in textile, packaging, and cosmetic industries (News Item ScienceDaily, 17 November 2016).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for the KIT press release about the research.
Click here for a video explaining the research.
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