Study on the correlations between the structural colors of photonic crystals and the base colors of textile fabric substrates

•Three typical photonic crystals on fabrics were obtained by vertical deposition self-assembly.•The correlations between the structural colors and the base colors on fabrics were investigated.•The related iridescent phenomena on fabrics in different base colors were studied.

Three typical colloidal microspheres were synthesized to fabricate three-dimensional photonic crystals on the polyester fabrics in different base colors by vertical deposition self-assembly. The influences of different kinds of base colors on the final colors of the assembled fabric substrates and the related iridescent phenomena were deeply investigated. The results showed that the white base color could dilute the structural color of the photonic crystals to greatest extent, however, the black base color could highlight the structural color at the most extent. If the base color of fabric substrate has the similar hue to the structural color of photonic crystals, it has little influence on the final color of the assembled fabrics. However, the final color has the lower saturation if the base color of fabric substrate is the complementary color of the photonic crystals. In addition, the assembled fabrics in various base colors still have the iridescent phenomena.

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