Inspired by the white beetle of the genus Cyphochilus, we fabricate ultra-thin, porous PMMA films by foaming with CO saturation. Optimising pore diameter and fraction in terms of broad-band reflectance results in very thin films with exceptional whiteness. Already films with 60 µm-thick scattering layer feature a whiteness with a reflectance of 90%. Even 9 µm thin scattering layers appear white with a reflectance above 57%. The transport mean free path in the artificial films is between 3.5 µm and 4 µm being close to the evolutionary optimised natural prototype. The bio-inspired white films do not lose their whiteness during further shaping, allowing for various applications.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5399467PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep46637DOI Listing

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