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Title: Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers

Abstract

Vivid, saturated structural colors are conspicuous and important features of many animals. A rich diversity of three-dimensional periodic photonic nanostructures is found in the chitinaceous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Three-dimensional photonic nanostructures have been described in bird feathers, but they are typically quasi-ordered. Here, we report bicontinuous single gyroid beta-keratin and air photonic crystal networks in the feather barbs of blue-winged leafbirds (Chloropsis cochinchinensis sensu lato), which have evolved from ancestral quasi-ordered channel-type nanostructures. Self-assembled avian photonic crystals may serve as inspiration for multifunctional applications, as they suggest efficient, alternative routes to single gyroid synthesis at optical length scales, which has been experimentally elusive.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4]
  1. National Univ. of Singapore (Singapore). Yale-NUS College. Division of Science; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Peabody Museum of Natural History
  2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
  3. Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland). Dept. of Materials
  4. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Peabody Museum of Natural History
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Royal Society United Kingdom
OSTI Identifier:
1815624
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1832176
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 118; Journal Issue: 23; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; biophotonic nanostructure; self-assembly; single gyroid; phase separation; bird coloration

Citation Formats

Saranathan, Vinodkumar, Narayanan, Suresh, Sandy, Alec, Dufresne, Eric R., and Prum, Richard O. Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.2101357118.
Saranathan, Vinodkumar, Narayanan, Suresh, Sandy, Alec, Dufresne, Eric R., & Prum, Richard O. Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101357118
Saranathan, Vinodkumar, Narayanan, Suresh, Sandy, Alec, Dufresne, Eric R., and Prum, Richard O. Tue . "Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101357118. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1815624.
@article{osti_1815624,
title = {Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers},
author = {Saranathan, Vinodkumar and Narayanan, Suresh and Sandy, Alec and Dufresne, Eric R. and Prum, Richard O.},
abstractNote = {Vivid, saturated structural colors are conspicuous and important features of many animals. A rich diversity of three-dimensional periodic photonic nanostructures is found in the chitinaceous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Three-dimensional photonic nanostructures have been described in bird feathers, but they are typically quasi-ordered. Here, we report bicontinuous single gyroid beta-keratin and air photonic crystal networks in the feather barbs of blue-winged leafbirds (Chloropsis cochinchinensis sensu lato), which have evolved from ancestral quasi-ordered channel-type nanostructures. Self-assembled avian photonic crystals may serve as inspiration for multifunctional applications, as they suggest efficient, alternative routes to single gyroid synthesis at optical length scales, which has been experimentally elusive.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2101357118},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 23,
volume = 118,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}

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