Cyphochilus white beetle scales exhibit exceptionally strong light scattering power that originates from their regular random fibrillar network nanostructure. The structure is believed to be formed by late-stage spinodal decomposition in a lipid membrane system. However, the structure is characterized by nonconstant mean curvatures and appreciable anisotropy, which are not expected from late-stage spinodal decomposition, so that the surface free energy is not minimized. Nevertheless, a high degree of regularity represented by the relatively uniform fibril dimensions and smooth fibril surfaces in the structure may result from a process similar to spinodal decomposition. In this study, we investigate the role of regularity in the Cyphochilus white beetle scale structure in realizing strong light scattering. Irregularity is computationally introduced into the structure in a systematic fashion such that its anisotropy is preserved and its surface area is kept constant. Calculations show that optical scattering power decreases as irregularity increases with a high sensitivity. This effect happens because, remarkably, irregularity on a scale much smaller than the wavelength destroys anisotropy in optical diffusion. Thus, the result shows that the in vivo process in Cyphochilus white beetle scales utilizes structural regularity and anisotropy to achieve strong light scattering at a tolerable surface free energy. In typical fabrication of random media, irregularity and multiple length scales typically increase surface area, so that durability of the nanostructures may be negatively affected. Our study indicates that regularity in anisotropic random nanostructures can achieve strong light scattering with a moderate surface free energy.

中文翻译：

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白色甲虫鳞片中的纳米结构规律性稳定性和强光散射 [邀请]

Cyphochilus白甲虫鳞片表现出异常强的光散射能力，这源于其规则的随机纤维网络纳米结构。该结构被认为是由脂质膜系统中的后期旋节线分解形成的。然而，该结构的特点是非恒定的平均曲率和可观的各向异性，这是后期旋节线分解所不期望的，因此表面自由能没有最小化。然而，结构中相对均匀的原纤维尺寸和光滑的原纤维表面所代表的高度规则性可能是由类似于旋节线分解的过程产生的。在这项研究中，我们研究了规律性在Cyphochilus中的作用白甲虫鳞片结构实现强光散射。以系统的方式通过计算将不规则性引入到结构中，从而保持其各向异性并保持其表面积不变。计算表明，随着不规则性的增加，光学散射能力会随着高灵敏度的增加而降低。发生这种效应的原因是，显着地，远小于波长的尺度上的不规则性破坏了光扩散的各向异性。因此，结果表明Cyphochilus 的体内过程白甲虫鳞片利用结构规律和各向异性在可容忍的表面自由能下实现强光散射。在随机介质的典型制造中，不规则性和多个长度尺度通常会增加表面积，从而可能对纳米结构的耐久性产生负面影响。我们的研究表明，各向异性随机纳米结构的规律性可以实现具有中等表面自由能的强光散射。