Functional structural color based on Cu₂O nanospheres with brilliant colors and excellent antibacterial properties

Structural colorization as a new green coloring method has received more and more attention. However, structural colors with only color can no longer meet the actual needs. It is of great practical significance to develop functional structural colors with brilliant colors and special function. In this study, Cu₂O single crystal spheres with different sizes were successfully prepared and were sprayed on the surface of polyester/cotton fabric to obtain bright purple, purple red, light blue, dark green, grass green, and orange–yellow structural colors. Due to the introduction of polyacrylate (PA) adhesive, Cu₂O structural colorized fabrics had excellent abrasion and washing colorfastness and stability. Meanwhile, the Cu₂O structural color has little influence on the original softness and air permeability of fabric. The structural colorized fabric showed excellent antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus, and the antibacterial rates decreased with the increasing of particle sizes of Cu₂O spheres. The large-scale preparation of uniform structural colors on fabric can be realized by the spraying method. The fine and complex structural color patterns can also be obtained by spraying Cu₂O single crystal spheres, showing good industrial application prospects. Therefore, this study provides experimental basis for the development of functional structural colors with brilliant colors and excellent antibacterial properties.