Tunable Interference Colors in Nanofibril-Crystal Composite Films via Integrated Salt-Assisted Assembly.

Shaohuang Chen, Qun Song, Zengbin Wang, Yinqiang Xia, Philip Biehl, Rongxin Su, Kai Zhang

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Article in Research (Washington, D.C.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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7 authors.

Shaohuang ChenSustainable Materials and Chemistry, Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5274-9190

Qun SongSustainable Materials and Chemistry, Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

Zengbin WangSustainable Materials and Chemistry, Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

Yinqiang XiaCollege of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.

Philip BiehlSustainable Materials and Chemistry, Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

Rongxin SuState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Low-Carbon Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Membrane Science and Desalination Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9778-9113

Kai ZhangSustainable Materials and Chemistry, Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5783-946X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) are strong, flexible biopolymers, whereas producing large-area (centimeter-scale) optical films with tunable, vivid interference colors with them remains difficult. The amorphous regions within the fibrils reduce birefringence and prevent uniform color formation. Here, we develop an integrated salt-assisted assembly (iSAA) strategy that combines metal-ion crosslinking with organic-inorganic coassembly to fabricate nanofibril-crystal composite films with tunable, vibrant colors. By adjusting the concentration of aluminum salt during assembly, we precisely control optical phase retardation from about 400 nm to over 2,500 nm, covering the full range of the interference colors. The resulting films appear naturally transparent while displaying intense colors across the visible spectrum when viewed under polarized light. We further demonstrate the universality of the iSAA strategy by fabricating films from different biopolymer fibrils (e.g., chemically modified CNFs and protein amyloid fibrils) on hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates. Additionally, coupling the transmitted colors of these films and their intrinsic optical haze produces a novel spectrally selective polychromatic lighting effect. These results establish the iSAA strategy as a general platform for engineering nanofibril-based birefringent materials with programmable polarization optics, expanding their potential in advanced optical and energy-efficient applications.

Identifiers

PMID41869287

DOI10.34133/research.1198

PMCPMC13003156

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