Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

These Colors Don’t Run

By R&D Editors | June 9, 2015

This African Starling displays its iridescent structural colors produced by ordered melanosomes. Photo by Liliana D’Alba. Source: University of AkronImagine a favorite T-shirt that does not dull with time, or a car that never needs a new coat of paint. A study done at The University of Akron may be able to make this a reality in the near future. Research performed at UA sought to recreate structural color patterns found in bird feathers to generate color without the timely and outdated use of pigments and dyes. Structural color should never diminish in hue and could even potentially be altered at someone’s preference.

UA associate professor of biology, Dr. Matthew Shawkey; his colleague Dr. Ali Dhinojwala, Morton Professor of Polymer Science; and Ming Xiao, graduate student, recently published a paper in a joint project with the University of California, San Diego. Shawkey and his team sought to produce synthetic particles that mimic the tiny packets of melanin found in feathers.

These tiny packets of synthetic melanin produce structural color, like in a bird’s feather, when they are packed into layers. Structural color occurs through the interaction of light with materials that have patterns on a tiny scale, which reflect light to make some wavelengths brighter and others darker.

The discoveries published in the journal ACS Nano reflect a milestone in biomimicry research.

These findings are just the beginning in a growing field that seeks to improve human life by imitating the success of natural designs and methods.

Structural color in particular has many potential functions. According to Dhinojwala, “One could think about applications as sensors, photo-protectors, and even perhaps an approach to create a wide range of colors without using any pigments,” he says.

Shawkey praises the benefits of structural color, saying, “Pigments are both financially and environmentally costly, and can only change color by fading. Structural colors can, in theory, be produced from more common, environmentally friendly materials and could potentially be changed depending on the environment or your whims.

Release Date: June 8, 2015
Source: University of Akron 

 

Related Articles Read More >

Floating solar mats clean polluted water — and generate power
Nanodots enable fine-tuned light emission for sharper displays and faster quantum devices
New photon-avalanching nanoparticles could enable next-generation optical computers
New “nose-computer interface” aims to upgrade Rover’s nose for better drug detection methods
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE