NEW CHAMELEON-INSPIRED 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

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Researchers have created a sustainable approach for 3D printing inspired by chameleons' colour-changing abilities

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The study coducted by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been published in the journal PNAS

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Study author Ying Diao said that new technology can modulate structural colour on the fly "to produce colour gradients not possible before"

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Scientists used structural colour, a scientific phenomenon, that absorbs and reflects light, and manipulates a material's physical arrangement

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They then put it through a UV-assisted direct-ink-write 3D printing approach that tunes light to control the printing process

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The team used specially designed crosslinking polymers for the research, which allowed them to alter structural colour

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It was found that structural colours can be produced in the visible wavelength spectrum from deep blue to orange

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While an artist might use many different paints to achieve a particular colour gradient, the research team used a single ink

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Scientists said this innovative approach will open new avenues for colour customisation in 3D-printed objects

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