Inspired by the way iridescent bird feathers play with light, scientists have created thin films of material in a wide range of pure colors – from red to green – with hues determined by physical structure rather than pigments.
结构颜色来自光的相互作用，这些材料的相互作用在微小的标度上具有图案，这些图案弯曲和反射光以扩大某些波长并抑制其他波长。黑色素体，在许多动物的羽毛，皮肤和皮毛中发现的小包装蛋白，当将它们包装成固体层时，可以产生结构性颜色，因为它们在某些鸟类的羽毛中。
“我们合成了黑色素合成版本的纳米颗粒，以模仿鸟羽毛中发现的自然结构，”化学和生物化学教授Nathan Gianneschi说。加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥。“我们想了解大自然如何使用这样的材料，然后发展超越自然可能的功能。”
Gianneschi’s work focuses on nanoparticles that can sense and respond to the environment. He proposed the project after hearing Matthew Shawkey, a biology professor at the University of Akron, describe his work on the structural color in bird feathers at a conference. Gianneschi, Shawkey and colleagues at both universities report the fruits of the resulting collaboration in the journalACS Nano, posted online May 12.
To mimic natural melanosomes, Yiwen Li, a postdoctoral fellow in Gianneschi’s lab, chemically linked a similar molecule, dopamine, into meshes. The linked, or polydopamine, balled up into spherical particles of near uniform size. Ming Xiao, a graduate student who works with Shawkey and polymer science professor Ali Dhinojwala at the University of Akron, dried different concentrations of the particles to form thin films of tightly packed polydopamine particles.
电影反映了光的纯色。红色，橙色，黄色和绿色，其色调取决于聚多巴胺层的厚度，以及散装的颗粒与大小相关的粒子，由Shawkey的分析确定。
The colors are exceptionally uniform across the films, according to precise measurements by Dimitri Deheyn, a research scientist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography who studies how a wide variety of organisms use light and color to communicate. “This spatial mapping of spectra also tells you about color changes associated with changes in the size or depth of the particles,” Deheyn said.
The qualities of the material contribute to its potential application. Pure hue is a valuable trait in colorimetric sensors. And unlike pigment-based paints or dyes, structural color won’t fade. Polydopamine, like melanin, absorbs UV light, so coatings made from polydopamine could protect materials as well. Dopamine is also a biological molecule used to transmit information in our brains, for example, and therefore biodegradable.
肖基说：“让我着迷了15年的想法是，人们可以通过轻微的（纳米尺度）的结构变化在整个彩虹上产生颜色。”有机体。他说：“这种仿生的想法可以帮助解决实际问题，也使我们能够检验我们提出的机械和发展假设。”
Natural melanosomes found in bird feathers vary in size and particularly shape, forming rods and spheres that can be solid or hollow. The next step is to vary the shapes of nanoparticles of polydopamine to mimic that variety to experimentally test how size and shape influence the particle’s interactions with light, and therefore the color of the material. Ultimately, the team hopes to generate a palette of biocompatible, structural color.
提交以下：材料•高级
