Method of diffraction grating transfer to hair and fibers

Abstract

Provided is a method for treating a fiber, including: imparting a pattern from a diffraction grating onto a fiber surface. The pattern is capable of diffracting incident polychromatic light into one or more dispersed visible colors, the fiber is not coated and the pattern is imparted directly onto the surface of the fiber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating a fiber comprising:
 imparting a pattern from a diffraction grating onto a fiber surface, wherein the pattern is capable of diffracting incident polychromatic light into one or more dispersed visible colors, and   wherein the fiber is not coated and the pattern is imparted directly onto the surface of the fiber.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern has a pitch less than about 100 microns, less than about 50 microns, or less than about 15 microns. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein imparting the pattern from the diffraction grating comprises;
 contacting the fiber surface and the diffraction grating to each other; and   applying a pressure to the diffraction grating in a range of from about 1 to about 100 psi to impart the pattern onto the fiber.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising heating the fiber during the applying of the pressure. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein imparting the pattern onto the fiber surface comprises imparting a first portion of the pattern from a first diffraction grating onto the fiber surface and imparting a second portion of the pattern from a second diffraction grating on to the fiber surface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein multiple different patterns are imparted to the fiber. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber comprises a hair. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising placing the hair in a pressing device, the pressing device comprising a heating block and a diffraction grating comprising a nanopatterned surface. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein imparting a pattern onto a fiber surface comprises hot pressing the hair with the pressing device under conditions suitable for forming a complementary nanopatterned surface on the hair. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the hair is pressed with the pressing device at a pressure of about 14 to about 16 psi. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the hair has a glass transition temperature in a range of from about 180° C. to about 220° C. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising removing the hair from the pressing device wherein the hair diffracts polychromatic light into dispersed visible colors. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the polychromatic light is selected from the group consisting of white light, sunlight, theatrical light, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the complementary nanopatterned surface on the hair is removed by shampooing. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the nanopatterned surface comprises a pattern selected from the group consisting of sawtooth patterns, spiral patterns, ring patterns, Archimedean patterns, ellipsoidal patterns, patterns having hyperbolic rings, patterns having parabolic rings, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . A device for imparting a pattern onto a fiber comprising,
 a grating comprising a pattern that diffracts incident polychromatic light into dispersed visible colors; and   a pressure application device to apply 1-100 psi to the grating.   
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 16 , further comprising a heating device to apply heat to the grating. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the pattern comprises a pitch less than about 100 microns, less than about 50 microns, or less than about 15 microns. 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the pattern comprises one or more of sawtooth patterns, spiral patterns, ring patterns, Archimedean patterns, ellipsoidal patterns, patterns having hyperbolic rings, patterns having parabolic rings, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the polychromatic light comprises white light, sunlight, theatrical light, or combinations thereof.