{"id":26186,"date":"2026-04-29T19:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=26186&post_type=story"},"modified":"2026-04-29T19:27:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:27:58","slug":"life-in-full-color","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/life-in-full-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Life in Full Color"},"content":{"rendered":"

Humans have long sought to recreate the magnificent colors seen in nature. From crafting Paleolithic cave paintings to developing the first synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century to the futuristic shine of present-day shades, the hunt for purer, fade-resistant colorants has remained very active. But humans\u2019 quest for color has proven harmful in some regards. Most paints today are made of mineral- and chemical-based pigments that contain heavy metals. Making paint also requires a vast amount of water and can cause a strain on resources.<\/p>\n

However, a new kind of paint \u2014 inspired by the vibrancy of butterflies \u2014 could provide a beautiful fix to these concerns. Created by researchers at UCF, these first ever structural color photonic pigments are ultra lightweight, energy-saving and non-toxic.<\/p>\n

Look for these incredible colors to one day grace the wings of commercial airliners, the fastest luxury cars on the road or the tallest skyscrapers in the world.<\/p>\n

How it Works<\/h2>\n

The color perceived when looking at an object depends on which wavelengths of visible light are absorbed and which are reflected or transmitted.<\/p>\n

Traditional paint and pigment colorants control light absorption based on electronic properties of the pigment material. Every color needs a new, artificially synthesized molecule.<\/p>\n

Structural color is different \u2014 it\u2019s not a pigment. Instead, it\u2019s color produced by microscopically structured surfaces that are fine enough to interfere with visible light.<\/p>\n

Mimicking nature, UCF researchers developed a new method to create structural colors that use light reflection from nanoparticles which are self-assembled on a multilayer-stack. These plasmonic paints are made from colorless materials: aluminum and an inert oxide, similar to sand. Debashis Chanda, professor of physics<\/a> and a member 色花堂\u2019s NanoScience Technology Center and College of Optics and Photonics<\/a>, discovered a new way to combine these ingredients and harvest micrometer-sized flakes that can be mixed with a commercial binder to form long-lasting paints of all colors.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormal color fades because pigment loses its ability to absorb photons,\u201d Chanda says. \u201cHere, we\u2019re not limited by that phenomenon. Once we paint something with structural color, it should stay for centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Potential Applications<\/strong>
\n\"Military
\nCooling military uniforms<\/p>\n

\"Vehicle<\/p>\n

Custom luxury vehicles
\n\"Housing
\nEnergy-efficient houses and buildings<\/p>\n

\"Airplane<\/p>\n

Lighter-weight airplanes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Vials<\/p>\n

\n

By the Numbers<\/h2>\n

3 Pounds VS. \u00a01,000 Pounds
\n<\/strong>The plasmonic paint is so lightweight that about 3 pounds of it could cover a Boeing 747 airplane, which normally requires more than 1,000 pounds of conventional paint.<\/p>\n

150 Nanometers
\n<\/strong>The new plasmonic paints achieve full coloration at a paint thickness of 150 nanometers, which is 500 times thinner than a strand of hair \u2014 making it the lightest paint in the world.<\/p>\n

10 to 15 Degrees Cooler
\n<\/strong>Because plasmonic paint reflects 100% of infrared radiation, less heat is absorbed. The new paints can cool surfaces by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with today\u2019s commercial paint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe temperature difference plasmonic paint promises would lead to significant energy savings.\u201d \u2014 Debashis Chanda, NanoScience Technology Center Professor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":26267,"template":"","categories":[1127],"tags":[204,287,1760,1580,30],"class_list":["post-26186","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infographic","tag-college-of-optics-and-photonics","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-debashis-chanda","tag-nanoscience-technology-center","tag-research","issues-spring-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nPlasmonic Paint: The World's Lightest Paint Is Also Fade-Proof<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Inspired by butterfly wings, a new energy-saving paint could coat a Boeing 747 with just 3 pounds\u2014and stay vibrant for centuries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/life-in-full-color\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Pounds to Paint a Boeing 747\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New butterfly-inspired paint is 500x thinner than a hair\u2014and never fades.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/life-in-full-color\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2026\/04\/Infographic-ft-Pegasus-Spr26-FB-1200x630-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Life in Full Color\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2026\/04\/Infographic-ft-Pegasus-Spr26-TW-1024x530-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/\",\"name\":\"Plasmonic Paint: The World's Lightest Paint Is Also Fade-Proof\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Infographic-ft-Pegasus-Spr26-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T19:27:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Inspired by butterfly wings, a new energy-saving paint could coat a Boeing 747 with just 3 pounds\u2014and stay vibrant for centuries.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/life-in-full-color\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Infographic-ft-Pegasus-Spr26-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Infographic-ft-Pegasus-Spr26-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The UCF-developed plasmonic paint uses nanoscale structural arrangement of colorless materials \u2014 aluminum and aluminum oxide \u2014 instead of pigments to create colors. 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