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Structural colors are produced by wavelength-dependent scattering of lightfrom nanostructures. While living organisms often exploit phase separation todirectly assemble structurally colored materials from macromolecules, syntheticstructural colors are typically produced in a two-step process involving thesequential synthesis and assembly of building blocks. Phase separation isattractive for its simplicity, but applications are limited due to a lack ofrobust methods for its control. A central challenge is to arrest phaseseparation at the desired length scale. Here, we show that solid-statepolymerization-induced phase separation can produce stable structures atoptical length scales. In this process, a polymeric solid is swollen andsoftened with a second monomer. During its polymerization, the two polymersbecome immiscible and phase separate. As free monomer is depleted, the hostmatrix resolidifies and arrests coarsening. The resulting PS-PMMA compositeshave a blue or white appearance. We compare these biomimetic nanostructures tothose in structurally-colored feather barbs, and demonstrate the flexibility ofthis approach by producing structural color in filaments and large sheets.

Structural Color from Solid-State Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation