Scientists create brilliant white material without a drop of white pigment

Overview

Updated Sep 11

White packaging, films, and coatings have relied on titanium dioxide for over a century. The European Union banned it as a food additive over safety concerns, and the search for alternatives has been urgent. Now researchers at Kyoto University have made brilliant white materials with no pigment at all—just engineered pores that scatter light the way snow and clouds do.

The technique, called Deep Foam Photolithography, also makes surfaces water-repellent without PFAS chemicals. It works on commercially available polymers and fabrics, prints at 20,000 dots per inch, and was published in Nature. If it scales, it could replace two problem materials—titanium dioxide and fluorinated coatings—with nothing but light, solvent, and structure.

Why it matters

If this scales, white packaging and water-repellent textiles no longer need titanium dioxide or PFAS — eliminating two classes of health and environmental concerns from everyday products.

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Key Indicators

20,000 DPI

Print resolution

Enough resolution for diffractive color and greyscale printing without pigments.

Pigment or PFAS required

The process uses no titanium dioxide, no fluorinated coatings, and no new specialty chemicals.

Institutions involved

Kyoto University iCeMS, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Donghua University.

Industrial problems addressed

EU titanium dioxide food-additive ban and PFAS persistence concerns.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Easan Sivaniah

Professor, Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS)

Led the research team that developed Deep Foam Photolithography

Organizations Involved

Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS)

Research Institute

Lead institution behind Deep Foam Photolithography

Interdisciplinary research institute combining cell biology and materials science.

Donghua University

University

Textile research collaborator

Shanghai-based institution specializing in textile science and engineering.

Timeline

March 2020 September 2026

5 events Latest: September 10th, 2026 · 2 months ago

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September 2026
Kyoto iCeMS issues public statement on DFP
Latest Statement

Institute describes how Hokusai's The Great Wave and natural foams inspired the sustainable white material platform.
September 10th, 2026
Deep Foam Photolithography published in Nature
Publication

Kyoto-led team unveils light-and-solvent foaming technique achieving 20,000 DPI structural whiteness without pigments or PFAS.
September 9th, 2026
ScienceDaily reports pigment-free white material
Announcement

Wider public release of the DFP technology from Kyoto University iCeMS and partners.
September 9th, 2026
July 2026
EU titanium dioxide food-additive ban takes effect
Regulation

European Union prohibits titanium dioxide as a food additive citing safety concerns, accelerating search for alternatives.
July 1st, 2026
March 2020
KIT demonstrates pigment-free white inspired by Cyphochilus beetle
Research

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology produces porous polymer structures that scatter light like the white beetle's chitin scales.
March 9th, 2020

Scenarios

DFP scales commercially to replace titanium dioxide in packaging

Likely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Kyoto University iCeMS; Donghua University textile researchers

The team has already demonstrated the process on commercially available polymers and fabrics. If industrial partners adopt it for packaging, films, and coatings, the first consumer products could appear within two to four years. The EU's titanium dioxide ban and growing PFAS restrictions create regulatory tailwinds.

DFP remains a laboratory technique, limited by scaling costs

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: None publicly — scenario reflects typical scale-up challenges for photolithographic processes

Photolithography is a semiconductor-industry process with expensive equipment. Whether it can be cost-effective for mass-market packaging and textiles is unproven. If scale-up costs exceed the savings from eliminating titanium dioxide, adoption could stall.

DFP expands into high-value applications like microfluidics and 3D printing

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Nature paper authors; ScienMag coverage

Beyond white materials, DFP can pattern microfluidic channels, capture picoliter liquid volumes, and print with high aspect ratios. These niche applications have higher margins than commodity packaging and could commercialize faster, even if mass-market adoption lags.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

March 2020

KIT biomimetic white films (2020)

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's Hendrik Hölscher and team, inspired by the white beetle Cyphochilus insulanus, produced porous polymer nanostructures that scatter light efficiently. Their films achieved 90% reflectance with a 60-micrometer scattering layer.

Then

Demonstrated feasibility of pigment-free whiteness in a lab setting.

Now

Established the scientific basis for structural whiteness in synthetic materials that DFP builds upon.

Why this matters now

DFP extends this principle from static films to a printable, high-resolution platform with added water repellency and fabric compatibility.

1910s–2026

Titanium dioxide in food and consumer products (century-long use)

Titanium dioxide became the dominant white pigment for plastics, paints, paper, cosmetics, and food due to its high refractive index and scattering efficiency. Its use spans over a century across nearly every white consumer product.

Then

The EU's 2026 ban on TiO₂ as a food additive created regulatory pressure on manufacturers.

Now

The search for alternatives intensified, accelerating interest in structural whiteness.

Why this matters now

DFP's elimination of titanium dioxide directly addresses a regulatory and health-motivated gap in materials science.

2019–2026

PFAS phase-out movement and regulatory pressure

Growing evidence of PFAS persistence in the environment and human body drove worldwide regulatory action, including restrictions in the EU and US states. The 'forever chemicals' are used widely for water and oil repellency.

Then

Manufacturers face mounting pressure to find non-fluorinated alternatives for water-resistant coatings.

Now

Materials that achieve repellency through structure rather than chemistry gain strategic value.

Why this matters now

DFP's surface roughness induces lotus-like super-hydrophobicity without any PFAS, aligning with the broader regulatory shift.