Morphogenesis and Scalable Manufacturing of Synthetic Brochosomes for Optical Signature Management
Abstract
Considered as one of the most sophisticated natural structures, brochosomes are three-dimensional, soccer ball-like microscopic granules with distributed nanoscale cavities produced by leafhoppers. Brochosomes, with demonstrated multifunctionality in camouflage and liquid-repellency, present a novel class of biologically inspired materials but replicating the complex geometries of brochosomeshas remained an outstanding technological challenge even with state-of-the-art micro- and nanomanufacturing technologies. To incorporate the fascinating multifunctionality of brochosomes into man-made materials for real-world applications, the key fundamental step is to develop the ability to manufacture the synthetic counterparts of brochosomes at scale. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no micro- and nanomanufacturing technology that can achieve scalable manufacturing of brochosomes due to their highly complex geometries with micro- and nanometer dimensions. Inspired by the ability of Malpighian tubules of leafhoppers to produce largequantities of monodisperse natural brochosomes, here we propose the use of droplet-based microfluidics to generate continuous, monodisperse synthetic brochosomes in a highly scalable fashion. To achieve the goal of producing large quantities of monodispersed synthetic brochosomes, we propose to 1) systematically investigate the morphogenesis of the synthetic brochosomes as a function of different physical and chemical parameters of the droplet microfluidic systems, 2) to design and develop the large-scale-integration microfluidics to fabricate synthetic brochosomes at scale, and 3) to explore the applications of the synthetic brochosomes as infrared coatings and engineered optical obscurants.If successful, the proposed research will present a breakthrough in bioinspired nanomanufacturing, and will be the first bioinspired nanomanufacturing approach capable of generating large quantities of monodispersed synthetic brochosomes withtunable dimensions that can truly mimic the multifunctionality and full geometrical features of the natural brochosomes. The ability to fabricate synthetic brochosomes at scale will open-up new and exciting opportunities for fundamental research in optics, wetting, energy, medicine, and bio-inspired materials design. In addition, we envision that these synthetic brochosomeswill enable new capabilities in infrared signature management, encryption devices, LiDAR, and camouflage technologies for various applications relevant to the Department of Defense.(Approved for Public Release)
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 03, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312173
Entities
People
- Tak-Sing Wong
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Pennsylvania State University
- United States Navy