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Material Could Provide Self-Cleaning, Waterproof Optics

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PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 17, 2012 — Inspired by butterfly wings, a new material that repels water and shines with beautiful, brilliant hues could provide the foundation for optical devices that are self-cleaning and waterproof.

“A lot of research over the last ten years has gone into trying to create structural colors like those found in nature, in things like butterfly wings and opals,” said associate professor Shu Yang of the University of Pennsylvania. “People have also been interested in creating superhydrophobic [super water-repellant] surfaces which is found in things like lotus leaves, and in butterfly wings, too, since they couldn’t stay in air with raindrops clinging to them.”

Shu YangThese two qualities are related by structures. Structural color is the result of periodic patterns, while superhydrophobicity results from surface roughness. Trying to combine these traits, however, is a complicated, multistep process.

Yang first used a holographic lithography technique to recreate the wings’ reflective properties, using a laser to make a three-dimensional cross-linked pattern in a photoresist material. A solvent was then used to wash away all the photoresist untouched by the laser, creating a 3-D lattice that provided structural color.

The material provide a more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly alternative to conventional building paints, Yang said, because “the structural color we can produce is bright and highly decorative, and it won’t fade away like conventional pigmentation color dies.”

The surface’s texture was made to exhibit the water-resistant property of butterfly wings by roughening it with a poor solvent, instead of through other methods such as using nanoparticles or plasma etching.

“Because the polymer hates the poor solvent, it crunches in and shrivels, forming nanospheres within the 3-D lattice,” Yang said.


Both qualities are in demand for a variety of applications.

“It could be a high-end façade for the aesthetics alone, in addition to the appeal of its self-cleaning properties,” Yang said of UPenn’s material.

ShuYang’s group at the University of Pennsylvania has a new way of combining the structural color and superhydrophobicity that characterize butterfly wings into a new material.
ShuYang’s group at the University of Pennsylvania has a new way of combining the structural color and superhydrophobicity that characterize butterfly wings into a new material. This drop of water sits on a wafer made with their process. Courtesy of Advanced Functional Materials.

Materials with structural color could be used as light-based analogs of semiconductors, for example, or for light guiding, lasing or sensing. As they repel liquids, superhydrophobic coatings are self-cleaning and waterproof. Such qualities would be useful for optical devices that are highly dependent on their degree of light transmission, and on their ability to maintain surface dryness and cleanliness. Yang recently received a grant to develop such coatings for solar panels.

While applications abound for how the traits could be used separately, Yang also has an application idea for how the two qualities could be combined.

“Specifically, we’re interested in putting this kind of material on the outside of buildings,” she said. “We are also developing energy-efficient building skins that will integrate such materials in optical sensors.” 

The findings appeared in Advanced Functional Materials (doi: 10.1002/adfm.201200013).

For more information, visit: www.upenn.edu

Published: October 2012
Glossary
iridescence
The rainbow exhibition of colors, usually caused by interference of light of different wavelengths reflected from superficial layers in the surface of a material.
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
photoresist
Photoresist is a light-sensitive material used in photolithography processes, particularly in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). It is a crucial component in the patterning of semiconductor wafers during the manufacturing process. The primary function of photoresist is to undergo a chemical or physical change when exposed to light, making it selectively soluble or insoluble in a subsequent development step. The general...
polymer
Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded together to form long chains or networks, creating a macromolecular structure. The process of linking monomers together is known as polymerization. Polymers can be classified into several categories based on their structure, properties, and mode of synthesis. Some common types of polymers include: Synthetic polymers: These are human-made polymers produced through...
structural color
Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the physical structure of the material. In structural color, the interaction of light with the microscopic or nanoscopic structure of the material produces color through interference, diffraction, or other optical effects. This is in contrast to pigments, which achieve color by selectively absorbing certain wavelengths of light. Key characteristics of structural color...
3-D latticeWafersAmericasbuilding skinsbutterfly wingsCoatingsenergyholographic lithographyindustrialiridescenceLaserslasinglight guidinglight-based analogsMaterials & Chemicalsnanoscale roughnessoptical devicesOpticsPennsylvaniaperiodic patternsphotonicsphotoresistpolymerResearch & TechnologysemiconductorssensingSensors & DetectorsShu Yangsolventsstructural colorsuperhydrophobicitysurface roughnessUniversity of Pennsylvaniawater repellant

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