Cicada wings have natural antimicrobial and anti-reflective qualities. Photo by asharkyu/Shutterstock

SHANGHAI, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A team of researchers from China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University recently developed a new class of anti-reflective materials using nanostructures derived from titanium dioxide. The scientists cited cicada wings as their inspiration.

Cicada wings are marked by periodic conical structures, which researchers call "nano-nipples." Scientists were able to texture materials with tiny titanium dioxide structures that mimic the miniature dots. The added texture diminished the materials' reflectivity.


The tiny dots deflect light from a variety of angles into the space between each structure. The light becomes permanently trapped.

"The multiple reflective and scattering effects of the antireflective structures prevented the incident light from returning to the outside atmosphere," lead researcher Wang Zhang explained in a news release.

Researchers say the biomorphic titanium dioxide structures are relatively easy and cheap to produce.

"[They] show great potential for photovoltaic devices such as solar cells," Zhang added. "We expect our work to inspire and motivate engineers to develop antireflective surfaces with unique structures for various practical applications."

The nanostructures found on cicada wings have previously inspired novel antimicrobial materials.

The latest research was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.