Facile preparation of amorphous photonic structure towards rapid temperature sensing and antibacterial textile

Colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs), a type of chromogenic material, have been widely used in sensing, converting stimuli into discernible color changes. Traditional CPC sensors with ordered structures are subject to angle-dependent structural color, which may lead to the errors in the sensing process. In this study, an amorphous photonic structures (APS) with angle-independent, noniridescent, and highly saturated structural color are successfully fabricated by doping black silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The high saturation is attributed to the absorption of incoherent scattered light in the whole visible spectrum uniformly by the added Ag NPs. In addition, based on the APS film, an angle-independent and colorful temperature sensor is developed. Compared with traditional sensors based on photonic crystals, this noniridescent temperature sensor is more accurate and practical because it avoids the color confusion caused by the angle-dependence of the structural color. Furthermore, taking advantage of the spray-coating method, textiles with saturated angle-independent structural colors and antibacterial ability are obtained, extending the application of APS in aseptic packaging and decoration.