Review of recent advancements in the biomimicry of structural colors

Organisms have evolved passively in nature with well-defined macroscopic effects and corresponding nanostructures under the microscope. Stunning structural colors are the visible result of the combined effects of refraction, diffraction, interference and reflection caused by sub-micron periodic structures. These physical processes (with minimal dissipative losses) produce structural colors that are bright and non-fading, as well as brightly iridescent and metallic, and have attracted a great deal of research in materials science, physics, chemistry and biology to understand and biomimetically prepare structural colors. Herein, we review the latest technological approaches and industrial applications used to artificially mimic structural colors in nature, highlighting the specific structures with different optical effects produced by low-cost self-assembled colloids and how the assembly of colloidal particles as structural units can then be modified to obtain photonic colors with set functions. Finally, the challenges and promising prospects for the application of structural colors in the industry are outlined.