甲虫启发的，基于纤维素的超白色涂料

A super-thin, non-toxic, ultra-white coating that is light in weight and edible has been developed by scientists. The coating can be used to produce brighter coatings and paints for use in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

材料的白度是纸张的20倍，它模拟了特定甲虫的超薄尺度的结构。它是通过使用无毒纤维素产生的。该研究的结果已在Advanced Materialsjournal.

通常，鲜艳的色彩是通过使用吸收特定波长光并反射其他波长的颜料制成的，然后我们的眼睛将其视为颜色。

However, to appear white, the entire wavelengths of light have to be reflected at the same efficiency. Majority of the commercially accessible white products (for example, cosmetics, sun creams, and paints) include highly refractive particles, most commonly zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, to efficiently reflect light. Although these materials are thought to be safe, they are not entirely biocompatible or sustainable.

在天然领域，一种甲虫原产于东南亚的甲虫（Cyphochilus甲虫）产生了超白色的颜色。它不使用颜料来实现这一目标；相反，它充分利用了封闭式几何网络的几何形状。几丁质是一种在昆虫外骨骼，软体壳中发现的分子，真菌及其结构的细胞壁可以以更高的效率散射光，从而形成了非常薄，轻质和超白色的涂层。

白色是一种非常特殊的结构颜色。其他类型的结构颜色（例如蝴蝶翅膀或蛋白石）的结构中具有特定的模式，从而产生鲜艳的颜色，但要产生白色，结构需要尽可能随机。

Dr. Olimpia Onelli, Co-Author -Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry。

The Cambridge researchers collaborated with researchers from Aalto University, Finland, and simulated the structure of chitin with cellulose, an abundant, biocompatible, non-toxic, and strong material. They used minute strands of cellulose (i.e., cellulose nanofibrils) to accomplish the same ultra-white effect in a flexible membrane.

The team used a blend of nanofibrils of distinctive diameters to adjust the opacity, and thereby the whiteness, of the end product. The membranes developed from the ultra-thin fibers were highly transparent. In contrast, the membranes developed from medium and thicker fibers led to the formation of a more opaque membrane. Thus, the team could calibrate the geometry of the nanofibrils such that they reflected the major portion of the incident light.

“这些基于纤维素的材料的结构几乎像意大利面一样欧洲杯足球竞彩，这就是它们能够很好地散射光线的方式该论文的高级作者Silvia Vignolini博士说，他也是剑桥化学系的。“We need to get the mix just right: we don’t want it to be too uniform, and we don’t want it to collapse。”

与甲虫的尺度相似，纤维素膜非常薄，厚度仅为1 m。但是，该团队有信心，可以通过进一步的制造方法来发展更多的微小膜。与纸张相比，膜可以以提高效率提高20-30倍的光散射光，可用于发展未来，明亮，高效，生物相容性和可持续的白色材料。欧洲杯足球竞彩

The UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the European Research Council partially funded the study. Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialization arm, has patented the technology.