TY - JOUR
T1 - A highly reflective biogenic photonic material from core–shell birefringent nanoparticles
AU - Palmer, Benjamin A.
AU - Yallapragada, Venkata Jayasurya
AU - Schiffmann, Nathan
AU - Wormser, Eyal Merary
AU - Elad, Nadav
AU - Aflalo, Eliahu D.
AU - Sagi, Amir
AU - Weiner, Steve
AU - Addadi, Lia
AU - Oron, Dan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Spectacular natural optical phenomena are produced by highly reflective assemblies of organic crystals. Here we show how the tapetum reflector in a shrimp eye is constructed from arrays of spherical isoxanthopterin nanoparticles and relate the particle properties to their optical function. The nanoparticles are composed of single-crystal isoxanthopterin nanoplates arranged in concentric lamellae around a hollow core. The spherulitic birefringence of the nanoparticles, which originates from the radial alignment of the plates, results in a significant enhancement of the back-scattering. This enables the organism to maximize the reflectivity of the ultrathin tapetum, which functions to increase the eye’s sensitivity and preserve visual acuity. The particle size, core/shell ratio and packing are also controlled to optimize the intensity and spectral properties of the tapetum back-scattering. This system offers inspiration for the design of photonic crystals constructed from spherically symmetric birefringent particles for use in ultrathin reflectors and as non-iridescent pigments.
AB - Spectacular natural optical phenomena are produced by highly reflective assemblies of organic crystals. Here we show how the tapetum reflector in a shrimp eye is constructed from arrays of spherical isoxanthopterin nanoparticles and relate the particle properties to their optical function. The nanoparticles are composed of single-crystal isoxanthopterin nanoplates arranged in concentric lamellae around a hollow core. The spherulitic birefringence of the nanoparticles, which originates from the radial alignment of the plates, results in a significant enhancement of the back-scattering. This enables the organism to maximize the reflectivity of the ultrathin tapetum, which functions to increase the eye’s sensitivity and preserve visual acuity. The particle size, core/shell ratio and packing are also controlled to optimize the intensity and spectral properties of the tapetum back-scattering. This system offers inspiration for the design of photonic crystals constructed from spherically symmetric birefringent particles for use in ultrathin reflectors and as non-iridescent pigments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077983399&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41565-019-0609-5
DO - 10.1038/s41565-019-0609-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 31932761
AN - SCOPUS:85077983399
SN - 1748-3387
VL - 15
SP - 138
EP - 144
JO - Nature Nanotechnology
JF - Nature Nanotechnology
IS - 2
ER -