Photonic paper: Multiscale assembly of reflective cellulose sheets in Lunaria annua
Name
sciadv.aba8966.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
2.47 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1e9285715382fbc498856ea561ca57c9
Author(s)
Guidetti, G
Sun, H
Marelli, Benedetto
Omenetto, FG
Date Issued
June 2020
Journal
Science Advances
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
G. Guidetti, H. Sun, B. Marelli, F. G. Omenetto, Photonic paper: Multiscale assembly of reflective cellulose sheets in Lunaria annua. Sci. Adv. 6, eaba8966 (2020)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. Bright, iridescent colors observed in nature are often caused by light interference within nanoscale periodic lattices, inspiring numerous strategies for coloration devoid of inorganic pigments. Here, we describe and characterize the septum of the Lunaria annua plant that generates large (multicentimeter), freestanding iridescent sheets, with distinctive silvery-white reflective appearance. This originates from the thin-film assembly of cellulose fibers in the cells of the septum that induce thin-film interference-like colors at the microscale, thus accounting for the structure's overall silvery-white reflectance at the macroscale. These cells further assemble into two thin layers, resulting in a mechanically robust, iridescent septum, which is also significantly light due to its high air porosity (>70%) arising from the cells' hollow-core structure. This combination of hierarchical structure comprising mechanical and optical function can inspire technological classes of devices and interfaces based on robust, light, and spectrally responsive natural substrates.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIADV.ABA8966
