Structurally colored carbon fibers with controlled optical properties prepared by a fast and continuous electrophoretic deposition method.

Structurally colored fiber was fabricated by an electrophoretic deposition method under a circinate electric field. These fibers exhibit structural color, based on the external field-assembly of charged PMMA microspheres on the surface of the electroconductive carbon fiber, with reflectance spectra stretch-tunable in the 430-608 nm, which are determined by the lattice constants of the photonic crystals. Also, the influence of applied voltage, deposition time and electroconductivity on the number of deposited layers and efficiency were studied. In addition, we further developed a horizontal and continuous process to fabricate a long range structurally colored fiber. And the method is a drastic acceleration in comparison with the gravity sedimentation technique that needs weeks or even months, and it would be fast and facile for the further study of structural color on the surface of the fiber. The process may be used to simulate the conventional fiber coloration process. Such elastically tuned structurally colored fibers are of interest for many applications.