Phys.org March 18, 2024
The leafhoppers cover their body surfaces with brochosomes, buckyball-shaped, nanoscopic spheroids with through-holes distributed across their surfaces, representing a class of deployable optical materials that are rare in nature. A team of researchers in the US (University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University) investigated the optical form-to-function relationship of brochosomes and demonstrated that the hierarchical geometries of brochosomes are engineered within a narrow size range with through-hole architecture to significantly reduce light reflection. They showed that the diameters of brochosomes are engineered to maximize broadband light scattering, while the secondary through-holes are designed to function as short-wavelength, low-pass filters, further reducing light reflection. These effects enabled brochosomes to achieve a substantial reduction in specular reflection in a broadband wavelength range, from ultraviolet to visible light, thereby enabling leafhoppers to evade predators. According to the researchers their findings provide design insights into a class of deployable bioinspired optical materials with potential applications in omnidirectional antireflection coatings, optical encryption, and multispectral camouflage… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Leafhopper and its brochosomes… Credit: PNAS, March 18, 2024, 121 (14) e2312700121