Achieving saturated non-iridescent structural colors via island-like polypyrrole coating on SiO2 microspheres and enhancing their stability through melt-curing strategy

High saturation and high stability are two issues that must be addressed in the practical application of structural color based on self-assembly of colloidal microspheres. Herein, we coated SiO2 microspheres with island-like polypyrrole (PPy), a black substance that can absorb incoherent light scattering, thereby enhancing the saturation of structural colors on both black and white substrates. Besides, the irregular island-like structure prompts the SiO2@PPy microspheres to form a short-range ordered amorphous structure, exhibiting non-iridescent structural colors. Importantly, we propose a melt-curing strategy that can enhance the interaction forces between the two microspheres and between the microspheres and the substrate, thus enabling the structural colors to exhibit good stability. Even after rubbing, folding, and ultrasonic cleaning tests, the color of the cured sample remains virtually unchanged. The SiO2@PPy microspheres prepared and the melt curing strategy in this work can lay foundations for the practical application of structural colors.