Butterfly-inspired films create vibrant colors while passively cooling objects
Aug 2023, phys.org
Morpho-inspired nanofilms -- a disordered material of rough frosted glass under a multilayer material made of titanium dioxide and aluminum dioxide, then placed on a silver layer that reflects all light. Although this type of passive photonic thermal management has been accomplished before, it has only been used with white or clear objects because it is difficult to maintain a wide viewing angle and high color saturation. "Thanks to the layered structure we developed, we were able to extend the passive cooling method from colorless objects to colorful ones while preserving color performance," said Wang. "In other words, our blue film looks blue across a large range of viewing angles and doesn't heat up because it reflects all the light."
via Shenzhen University: Wanlin Wang et al, Cooling colors below the ambient temperature, Optica (2023). DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.487561
Image credit: AI Art - Close Up of an Eye 1 - 2024
Inspired by butterfly wings, researchers develop a soft, color-changing system for optical devices
Sep 2023, phys.org
The new pixelated, soft, color-changing system called a Morphable Concavity Array (MoCA) has a top layer of photonic crystal elastomer actuator (PC-EA) film and a bottom layer of a hole array (lattice with regularly spaced round holes), where ethanol can be added to make the one-half of the top layer swell, resulting in tension that pulls the other-half of the top layer downward into the hole, producing a dish-like concave shape that acts as a pixel.MoCA was inspired by the structures on butterfly wings called dual-color micro-concavities that produce vibrant, iridescent colors and are called photonic crystals.
via University of Hong Kong: Yi Pan et al, Pixelating Responsive Structural Color via a Bioinspired Morphable Concavity Array (MoCA) Composed of 2D Photonic Crystal Elastomer Actuators, Advanced Science (2023). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202300347
Chameleon-inspired coating could cool and warm buildings through the seasons
Sep 2023, phys.org
Namaqua chameleons of southwestern Africa use light gray to reflect sunlight and dark brown to absorb heat. These thermochromic microcapsules were sprayed or brushed onto a metal surface that when heated to 68 degrees, began to change from dark to light gray; at 86 degrees it reflected 93% of solar radiation.
For anyone who lived in the Northeast in October 2023 and had to use both their air conditioner and heater in the same week -
"During spring and fall, the new coating was the only system that could adapt to the widely fluctuating temperatures changes, switching from heating to cooling throughout the day."
via School of New Energy, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai China: "Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer" Scalable Biochameleons Inspired Temperature Adaptive Coating with Easy Preparation and Construction, Nano Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02733
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| AI Art - Close Up of an Eye 2 - 2024 |
From glowing cats to wombats, fluorescent mammals are much more common than you'd think
Oct 2023, phys.org
Almost every mammal we studied showed some form of fluorescence in the fur, spines and even skin and nails.In particular, we noticed that white and light-colored fur is fluorescent, with dark pigmentation preventing fluorescence. For example, a zebra's white stripes fluoresced while the dark stripes didn't. Nocturnal mammals were more fluorescent, while aquatic species were less fluorescent than those that burrowed, lived in trees, or on land.
via Curtin University and the Western Australian Museum: Kenny J. Travouillon et al, All-a-glow: spectral characteristics confirm widespread fluorescence for mammals, Royal Society Open Science (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230325
Paint that can change colors? The skin of an octopus holds the key, researchers say
Oct 2023, phys.org
Xanthommatin is a naturally occurring dye present in the bodies of cephalapods like octopi and squid. Previously the researchers found that mixing different amounts of titanium dioxide with xanthommatin could speed up color change or add to the intensity of the color shift.
via Northeastern University: Cassandra L. Martin et al, Color‐Changing Paints Enabled by Photoresponsive Combinations of Bio‐Inspired Colorants and Semiconductors, Advanced Science (2023). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202302652
Morpho butterfly nanostructure inspires technology for bright, balanced lighting
Oct 2023, phys.org
Two-dimensional nanopatterns in common transparent polydimethylsiloxane elastomer are an effective optical diffuser for short- and long-wavelength light. The diffuser surface patterns were tailored to optimize the performance for blue and red light, and for self-cleaning properties.
via Osaka University: Kazuma Yamashita et al, Development of a High‐Performance, Anti‐Fouling Optical Diffuser Inspired by Morpho Butterfly's Nanostructure, Advanced Optical Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adom.202301086
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