Biometamaterials: Black Ultrathin Gold Film Fabricated on Lotus Leaf

Sci Rep. 2015 Nov 4:5:15992. doi: 10.1038/srep15992.

Abstract

We report on a black metamaterial of gold fabricated on a lotus leaf that was used as a template. In spite of the extremely thin gold coating (10-nm thick) on the lotus leaf, the surface shows reflectivity below 0.01 over the entire visible spectral range. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations suggest that the low reflectivity stems from the secondary structures on the lotus leaf, where randomly oriented nanorods are distributed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Lotus*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Nanotubes / chemistry*
  • Phosphates / chemistry*
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Black-Gold
  • Phosphates
  • Gold