Ultra-white coatings modelled on beetle scales

摘要

Researchers have developed a super-thin, non-toxic, lightweight, edible ultra-white coating that could be used to make brighter paints andcoatings. The material - which is 20 times whiter than paper - is made from non-toxic cellulose and achieves such bright whiteness by mimicking the structure of the ultra-thin scales of certain types of beetle. Bright colours are usually produced using pigments, which absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others, which our eyes then perceive as colour.