Biomimetic optical nanostructures from melanin and melanin composites
Abstract
Colors have critical functions in the manmade and natural worlds, ranging from crypsis tocommunication to thermoregulation. While many colors are produced via selectivewavelength absorption from pigments, others result from coherent light scattering bymaterials organized at the nanometer scale. These structural colors have numerousadvantages over pigment-based colors, including greater color diversity, iridescence,resistance to fading, tunability, and potentially low cost of manufacture due to theirformation by self-assembly. Here, in collaboration with the MURI melanin proposal(Gianneschi, PI), I propose to 1) expand the production and characterization ofoptical and physical properties of melanin and melanin-based nanostructures, 2) useoptical modeling to reveal structure-function relationships of melanin and melaninnanostructures and 3) produce optically active materials using melanin and othermaterials via self-assembly and nanoscale 3D printing. This approach will enable meto integrate closely with the MURI team while having an independent and significantimpact focused on optics, and potentially enable development of new and usefulmaterials for optical fibers, coatings and pigment-free paints. For 1) I first use UV-VISNIRspectrophotometry to examine the optical properties of natural and synthetic melaninnanostructures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 19, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810477
Entities
People
- Matthew D. Shawkey
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Ghent University
- United States Air Force