A flexible color-changing film inspired by chameleon skin (w/video)

Nanowerk  October 21, 2020 By tensing or relaxing their skin, chameleons can change the way light reflects from guanine crystals under the surface, producing structural coloration. The structural colors are different from the pigments that give many other creatures their hues. Currently available materials for mimicking chameleon skin is difficult to produce. Researchers in China introduced a flexible network structure in cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), exerting a bridge effect for the rigid nanomaterials. These films display high flexibility with a fracture strain of up to 39%. Notably, stretching-induced structural color changes visible to the naked eye are realized, for the first […]