Inorganic chiral 3-D photonic crystals with bicontinuous gyroid structure replicated from butterfly wing scales

Chem Commun (Camb). 2011 Sep 21;47(35):9873-5. doi: 10.1039/c1cc11637a. Epub 2011 Aug 4.

Abstract

Three dimensional silica photonic crystals with the gyroid minimal surface structure have been synthesized. The butterfly Callophrys rubi was used as a biotemplate. This material represents a significant addition to the small family of synthetic bicontinuous photonic crystals.