The structural and optical properties of naturally occurring and artificially produced photonic nanoarchitectures have been studied at the Nanostructures Department of HUN-REN EK MFA for almost 20 years, using light and electron microscopy techniques and optical spectrophotometry. Biological nanoarchitectures composed of chitin and air can form ordered or quasi-ordered nanocomposites, where the typical distances between structural elements are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. As a result, these photonic crystal-type structures can influence the propagation of light within a certain wavelength range, potentially leading to a partial or complete photonic band gap. Many naturally occurring vibrant colors (such as those seen in opals, beetles’ elytra, and butterfly wings) are formed based on this principle. By studying them using materials science methods, similar structures can be designed, modeled, and fabricated. Furthermore, these biological and bioinspired photonic nanoarchitectures can be used in a variety of potential applications, such as optical vapor sensors, liquid or gas-phase nanostructured photocatalysts, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering surfaces, serving as ready-made prototypes of photonic nanostructures.

The economic production of these structures is crucial for practical applications. The natural photonic nanoarchitectures found in butterfly wing scales offer greater variety and tolerance than artificial multilayer structures, as well as opal or inverse opal-type structures. Therefore, the primary goal is to better understand these biological structures and use this knowledge to design bioinspired materials for various applications. The PhD candidate will be responsible for designing and implementing optical spectrophotometry measurements on biological photonic nanoarchitectures, as well as analyzing their scanning and transmission electron microscopic images. By evaluating the measurement data, the structural features of these biological photonic nanoarchitectures can be revealed, which may contribute to optical modeling and the design of advanced bioinspired artificial structures. The bioinspired nanoarchitectures can be compared with the biological structures, and both can be applied in optical vapor sensing or photocatalysis as nanostructured photonic surfaces.