Our recent work has shown that vapors from chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulants can be detected at the ppm level by processing visible light reflected from the natural polymeric photonic crystals (PhCs ) found in the wing scale of the <i>morpho didius</i>. Here, this natural PhC system was further investigated by exploring a range of vapor concentrations. The PhC was found to be selective and sensitive for vapors of similar refractive index and polarity over the range of concentrations studied. Additionally, modeling of the complex nanoarchitecture present in the wing scales suggested vapors of higher dielectric constant tended to congregate in regions of the wing scale known to be more polar. Collectively, these results suggest strategies for improving synthetic PhC sensor designs for CWA simulants.

Sensing nerve agent simulants via photonic crystals of the <i>Morpho didius</i> butterfly

254th National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Sensing nerve agent simulants via photonic crystals of the Morpho didius butterfly