Bioinspired quasi-amorphous structural color materials toward architectural designs

Summary Among the most attractive features exhibited by natural quasi-amorphous structures (QASs) are the brilliant noniridescent structural colors that are consistent with people’s visual perception, thus holding enormous potential in color-related fields. Recently, considerable effort has been devoted to mimic short-range ordered QASs through microsphere self-assembly. However, comprehensive reviews concerning the architectural design and multifunctional application of microsphere-based QASs, especially intelligent biomimetic utilization, are few. The present review systematically summarizes the construction strategies and mechanisms of quasi-amorphous structural color materials and their advanced utilization, such as textile coloring, multicolor printing, dynamic display, eco-friendly pigments, visual sensors, and information security. Based on the scattering effect, we aim to provide constructive insights into the relevance between the structural optimization and noniridescent color generation of QASs for guiding the construction of versatile QASs with high color visibility and structural stability. Finally, the outlook and critical challenges of quasi-amorphous structural color materials are highlighted.