Integrating Cu₂O Colloidal Mie Resonators in Structurally Colored Butterfly Wings for Bio-Nanohybrid Photonic Applications.

ABSTRACT: Colloidal Cu₂O nanoparticles can exhibit both photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination and resonant Mie scattering, but, for their practical application, they have to be immobilized on a substrate. Butterfly wings, with complex hierarchical photonic nanoarchitectures, constitute a promising substrate for the immobilization of nanoparticles and for the tuning of their optical properties. The native wax layer covering the wing scales of Polyommatus icarus butterflies was removed by simple ethanol pretreatment prior to the deposition of Cu₂O nanoparticles, which allowed reproducible deposition on the dorsal blue wing scale nanoarchitectures via drop casting. The samples were investigated by optical and electron microscopy, attenuated total reflecta

SUBMITTER: Piszter G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11433277 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature