Biologically controlled morphology and twinning in guanine crystals

A Hirsch, BA Palmer, N Elad, D Gur… - Angewandte Chemie …, 2017 - Wiley Online Library
A Hirsch, BA Palmer, N Elad, D Gur, S Weiner, L Addadi, L Kronik, L Leiserowitz
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2017Wiley Online Library
Guanine crystals are widely used in nature as components of multilayer reflectors. Guanine‐
based reflective systems found in the copepod cuticle and in the mirror of the scallop eye are
unique in that the multilayered reflectors are tiled to form a contiguous packed array. In the
copepod cuticle, hexagonal crystals are closely packed to produce brilliant colors. In the
scallop eye, square crystals are tiled to obtain an image‐forming reflecting mirror. The tiles
are about 1 μm in size and 70 nm thick. According to analysis of their electron diffraction …
Abstract
Guanine crystals are widely used in nature as components of multilayer reflectors. Guanine‐based reflective systems found in the copepod cuticle and in the mirror of the scallop eye are unique in that the multilayered reflectors are tiled to form a contiguous packed array. In the copepod cuticle, hexagonal crystals are closely packed to produce brilliant colors. In the scallop eye, square crystals are tiled to obtain an image‐forming reflecting mirror. The tiles are about 1 μm in size and 70 nm thick. According to analysis of their electron diffraction patterns, the hexagon and square tiles are not single crystals. Rather, each tile type is a composite of what appears to be three crystalline domains differently oriented and stacked onto one another, achieved through a twice‐repeated twinning about their ⟨011⟩ and ⟨021⟩ crystal axes, respectively. By these means, the monoclinic guanine crystal mimics higher symmetry hexagonal and tetragonal structures to achieve unique morphologies.
Wiley Online Library
以上显示的是最相近的搜索结果。 查看全部搜索结果