Simple and Rapid Fabrication of Large-Scale Polymer-Immobilized Colloidal Crystals by Spray Coating

Polymer‐immobilized colloidal crystal films have been fabricated by conventional spray coating and UV curing of silica–acrylic monomer suspensions. Controlling both the viscosity of the suspensions and the wettability of substrates enabled colloidal crystal films with smooth surfaces and brilliant structural colors due to Bragg diffraction. The structural colors could be controlled by particle concentrations in addition to particle diameter. The wettability influenced the thickness of the coated film and it consequently affected the Bragg reflection intensity of the film. Silhouette figures were textured on a substrate having regions with different wettabilities by single spray coating. Conventional air spray coating can be used to fabricate acrylic polymer‐immobilized colloidal crystal films by controlling the viscosity of colloidal suspensions and the wettability of substrates. The structural color depends on the diameters and concentrations of the spheres. Patterns can be textured on a substrate with regions of different wettability by single spray coating.