Biopolymer Photonics: From Nature to Nanotechnology

Biopolymers offer vast potential for renewable and sustainable devices. While nature mastered the use of biopolymers to create highly complex 3D structures and optimized their photonic response, artificially created structures still lack nature's diversity. To bridge this gap between natural and engineered biophotonic structures, fundamental questions such as the natural formation process and the interplay of structural order and disorder must be answered. Herein, biological photonic structures and their characterization techniques are reviewed, focusing on those structures not yet artificially manufactured. Then, employed and potential nanofabrication strategies for biomimetic, bio-templated, and artificially created biopolymeric photonic structures are discussed. The discussion is extended to responsive biopolymer photonic structures and hybrid structures. Last, future fundamental physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology challenges related to biopolymer photonics are foreseen.

Automated summary

This article reviews biological photonic structures and their characterization techniques, focusing on those structures not yet artificially manufactured. Then, employed and potential nanofabrication strategies for biomimetic, bio-templated, and artificially created biopolymeric photonic structures are discussed. The discussion is extended to responsive biopolymer photonic structures and hybrid structures. Last, future fundamental physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology challenges related to biopolymer photonics are foreseen.