The Cyphochilus beetle became the "prototype" for the whitest material in the world

You might think that a sheet of printer paper is completely white, but this is a bit different. Not so long ago, scientists at the University of Cambridge created a material 20 times whiter than the highest quality paper, and the Cyphochilus beetle, whose halo is found in the region of Southeast Asia, was use
d as a living prototype. using appropriate pigments that absorb light in a wide range and reflect light of a strictly defined wavelength. However, in order to reproduce the white color, it is required that the surface of the material reflects light of any wavelength with the same efficiency. From an optical point of view, ensuring the same reflectance over the entire visible light range is quite difficult, as indicated by the small number of naturally occurring materials with similar properties, among which the most famous are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Nature used a very unusual solution, painting the Cyphochilus beetle white. It gets its white color not from any pigment, but from a reflective network consisting of ordered molecules of its chitinous shell.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge, working with colleagues from Aalto University, Finland, were able to copy the structure of the reflective network. The created artificial network consists of flexible membranes composed of carefully ordered cellulose nanofibers. Not only is cellulose itself absolutely non-toxic and cheap, it, unlike zinc oxide, is completely biologically compatible with the human body and other living beings.

The cellulose membrane reflects light with almost equal efficiency at any wavelength in the visible range, producing the brightest saturated white color. Such membranes can be made very thin, and the researchers have managed to create samples that are only one millionth of a meter thick.

Scientists from Cambridge are currently working on the development of a technology for the industrial production of cellulose reflective membranes. And once such technology is developed, cellulosic membranes could find applications in things like paints, cosmetics and even food. So

urce: www.dailytechinfo.org