Advanced search

Filter By:

Journal Check one or more journals to show results from those journals only.

Choose more journals

Article type Check one or more article types to show results from those article types only.
Subject Check one or more subjects to show results from those subjects only.
Date Choose a date option to show results from those dates only.

Custom date range

Clear all filters
Sort by:
Showing 1–24 of 24 results
Advanced filters: Author: Silvia Vignolini Clear advanced filters

  • Nacre is an organic–inorganic composite biomaterial, which consists of an ordered multilayer structure of crystalline calcium carbonate platelets separated by porous organic layers. Finnemoreet al. present a route to artificial nacre which mimics the natural layer-by-layer biosynthesis.

    • Alexander Finnemore
    • Pedro Cunha
    • Ullrich Steiner
    Research
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 3, P: 1-6

  • Disordered photonic materials have the ability to control the flow of light through random multiple scattering. This has the drawback of randomizing both the direction and phase of the propagating light. Now, confined and interacting light modes are demonstrated for a two-dimensional disordered photonic structure.

    • Francesco Riboli
    • Niccolò Caselli
    • Diederik S. Wiersma
    Research
    Nature Materials
    Volume: 13, P: 720-725

  • Corals have evolved as finely tuned light collectors. Here, the authors report on the 3D printing of coral-inspired biomaterials, that mimic the coral-algal symbiosis; these bionic corals lead to dense microalgal growth and can find applications in algal biotechnology and applied coral science.

    • Daniel Wangpraseurt
    • Shangting You
    • Silvia Vignolini
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 11, P: 1-8

  • Chirality transfer across length-scales is an intriguing phenomenon but connecting the properties of individual building blocks to the emergent features of their resulting large-scale structure remains challenging. Here, the authors investigate the origins of mesophase chirality in cellulose nanocrystal suspensions, whose self-assembly into chiral photonic films has attracted significant interest.

    • Thomas G. Parton
    • Richard M. Parker
    • Silvia Vignolini
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 13, P: 1-9

  • Several biomaterials have been promised as suitable candidates for photonic materials and pigments, but their fabrication processes have been limited to the small to medium-scale production of films. Here, the authors demonstrate a substrate-free process to fabricate structurally coloured microparticles via the confined self-assembly of a cholesteric cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspension within emulsified microdroplets.

    • Richard M. Parker
    • Tianheng H. Zhao
    • Silvia Vignolini
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 13, P: 1-11

  • Wiring photosynthetic biomachineries to electrodes is promising for sustainable bio-electricity and fuel generation, but designing such interfaces is challenging. Aerosol jet printing is now used to generate hierarchical pillar array electrodes using indium tin oxide nanoparticles for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis.

    • Xiaolong Chen
    • Joshua M. Lawrence
    • Jenny Z. Zhang
    Research
    Nature Materials
    Volume: 21, P: 811-818

  • Exciton-polaritons are typically formed in organic systems when the molecules are confined between metallic or dielectric mirrors. Here, the authors reveal that interactions between excitons and moderately confined photonic states within the bare organic film can also lead to polariton formation, making them the primary photoexcitation.

    • Raj Pandya
    • Richard Y. S. Chen
    • Akshay Rao
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 12, P: 1-11

  • The large-scale fabrication of cellulose nanocrystal photonic films in a roll-to-roll device is achieved by careful optimization of the cellulose nanocrystal formulation and its controlled deposition and drying on a substrate. Once dry, these photonic films can be peeled and milled into effect pigments, highlighting the potential of cellulose nanocrystals as a sustainable material for industrial photonic applications.

    • Benjamin E. Droguet
    • Hsin-Ling Liang
    • Silvia Vignolini
    Research
    Nature Materials
    Volume: 21, P: 352-358

  • Self-assembled structures are typically demonstrated on small scales under well-controlled lab environments. Here, the authors present a roll-to-roll process for the continuous manufacturing of square-meters of self-assembled cellulose-based mechano-chromic films and demonstrate the recording of pressure profiles generated by foot-imprints in real time.

    • Hsin-Ling Liang
    • Mélanie M. Bay
    • Silvia Vignolini
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 9, P: 1-7

  • The ability to stabilise colloidal suspensions in solution against salt-induced aggregation is critical to many industrial applications, but it remains challenging at high salt concentration. To overcome this problem, Lan et al. introduce a raspberry-like colloidal particle with controllable morphology.

    • Yang Lan
    • Alessio Caciagli
    • Erika Eiser
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 9, P: 1-8

  • Radiation induced sample deformation can be a limiting factor for X-ray imaging resolution at the nanoscale. The authors report a tomographic model that estimates and accounts for morphological changes during data acquisition and enables reconstruction of a high-resolution image ab initio.

    • Michal Odstrcil
    • Mirko Holler
    • Manuel Guizar-Sicairos
    ResearchOpen Access
    Nature Communications
    Volume: 10, P: 1-9

  • Disordered nanoscale striations on petals, tepals and bracts have evolved multiple times among flowering plants and provide a salient visual signal to foraging bumblebees (Bombus terrestris).

    • Edwige Moyroud
    • Tobias Wenzel
    • Beverley J. Glover
    Research
    Nature
    Volume: 550, P: 469-474

  • As the most abundant biopolymer on Earth since it can be found in every plant cell wall, cellulose has emerged as an ideal candidate for the development of renewable and biodegradable photonic materials, substituting conventional pigments.

    • Bruno Frka-Petesic
    • Silvia Vignolini
    Comments & Opinion
    Nature Photonics
    Volume: 13, P: 365-367

  • The sensitivity and visual acuity of the eye of the shrimp L. vannamei are achieved via an exquisitely optimized nanostructured tapetum leading to a very high reflectivity in an ultrathin layer. Understanding the properties of such natural nanostructures can lead to the design of artificial photonic materials with enhanced properties.

    • Lukas Schertel
    • Silvia Vignolini
    News & Views
    Nature Nanotechnology
    Volume: 15, P: 87-88

  • This Review discusses recent progress in bioinspired nanocomposite design, emphasizing the role of hierarchical structuring at distinct length scales to create multifunctional, lightweight and robust structural materials for diverse technological applications.

    • Dhriti Nepal
    • Saewon Kang
    • Hendrik Heinz
    Reviews
    Nature Materials
    Volume: 22, P: 18-35

  • Investigation on how to produce brilliant whiteness using disordered low refractive index materials have strongly focused on specific biological examples such as the white beetle scale structures. In this work, the authors demonstrate that brilliant whiteness can achieved regardless of the disordered topology by tuning a handful of parameters.

    • Johannes S. Haataja
    • Gianni Jacucci
    • Silvia Vignolini
    ResearchOpen Access
    Communications Physics
    Volume: 6, P: 1-10