Biomimetics and bioinspired surfaces: from nature to theory and applications

• Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira,
• Thies H. Büscher,
• Manuela Rebora,
• Poramate Manoonpong,
• Zhendong Dai and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 418–421, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.32

• ; microstructures; nanostructures; wettability; The surfaces of living organisms are continuously interacting with their surroundings. As a result, they encounter a variety of challenges arising from both external and internal stimuli. Consequently, these surfaces must be multifunctional and adapt to numerous

• microstructures that reduce drag; for instance, bees and wasps have structures on the wings that facilitate flying [5]. Zhu et al. [9] applied this concept in using microtextures to rotating blades of aircraft engines. Their results show that the microtextures may improve energy efficiency by 3.7% of a single

Tailoring of physical properties of RF-sputtered ZnTe films: role of substrate temperature

• Kafi Devi,
• Usha Rani,
• Arun Kumar,
• Divya Gupta and
• Sanjeev Aggarwal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 333–348, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.25

• steps, namely, condensation, nucleation, and crystallization on the substrate surface. The mobility of atoms on the substrate surface is very much affected by the substrate temperature. At low substrate temperatures, because of the low diffusion rate and low mobility of atoms, columnar microstructures

Ultrablack color in velvet ant cuticle

• Vinicius Marques Lopez,
• Wencke Krings,
• Juliana Reis Machado,
• Stanislav Gorb and
• Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1554–1565, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.122

• specialized cuticle, characterized by microstructures that effectively minimize reflectance and enhance light absorption. Optical spectrometry confirmed the ultrablack nature of the cuticle, with the measured reflectance approaching minimal levels across a broad spectrum of wavelengths. Therefore, our study

• spectacle among animals. These colors with high absorption are formed in nature by a sophisticated arrangement of microstructures (i.e., structures visible under microscope) alongside pigment depositions in underlying tissues [9][10]. For instance, in male peacock spiders (Figure 1A), ultrablack

• absorption due to complex arrangements of microstructures at the cuticle surface above absorptive lamellae. The surface microstructure of the ultrablack cuticle (setae and microsculpturing) bear some structural resemblance to the ultrablack surfaces in other animals [10][13]. Moreover, there are lamellae

Investigation of Hf/Ti bilayers for the development of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeters

• Victoria Y. Safonova,
• Anna V. Gordeeva,
• Anton V. Blagodatkin,
• Dmitry A. Pimanov,
• Anton A. Yablokov and
• Andrey L. Pankratov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1353–1361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.108

• Victoria Y. Safonova Anna V. Gordeeva Anton V. Blagodatkin Dmitry A. Pimanov Anton A. Yablokov Andrey L. Pankratov Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n.a. R.E. Alekseev, Minin Street, 24, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 603155, Russia Institute for Physics of Microstructures of the Russian

Hymenoptera and biomimetic surfaces: insights and innovations

• Vinicius Marques Lopez,
• Carlo Polidori and
• Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1333–1352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.107

• across species, with those species employing the sting for offensive or defensive purposes potentially possessing cuticular microstructures proficient at inflicting significant harm [173]. Stridulatory organ: Stridulation in Hymenoptera, the process by which these insects produce sound by rubbing certain

Functional morphology of cleaning devices in the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)

• Silvana Piersanti,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Wencke Krings,
• Stanislav Gorb and
• Manuela Rebora

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1260–1272, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.102

• Abstract Among the different micro- and nanostructures located on cuticular surfaces, grooming devices represent fundamental tools for insect survival. The present study describes the grooming microstructures of the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae) at the adult stage. These structures

• used to clean the head and, especially, the eyes and the antennae. The microstructures were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the presence and distribution of resilin, an elastomeric protein that enhances cuticle deformability and flexibility (review in [36]), were analyzed using

Local work function on graphene nanoribbons

• Daniel Rothhardt,
• Amina Kimouche,
• Tillmann Klamroth and
• Regina Hoffmann-Vogel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1125–1131, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.91

• an average over several measurements (over 257 LCPD line scans), the influence of the tip and sample microstructures on the resulting overall values is minimized. Additionally, is measured with respect to the reference LCPD recorded on the Au(111) surface to account for variations of the tip contact

Direct electron beam writing of silver using a β-diketonate precursor: first insights

• Katja Höflich,
• Krzysztof Maćkosz,
• Chinmai S. Jureddy,
• Aleksei Tsarapkin and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1117–1124, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.90

• obtained [34]. For planar deposits, similar microstructures were obtained during platinum deposition using Pt(η5-CpMe)Me3 [35] and ruthenium deposition using (EtCp)2Ru [36], both in combination with post-deposition purification employing electron beam irradiation in a water atmosphere. For the case of

Beyond biomimicry – next generation applications of bioinspired adhesives from microfluidics to composites

• Dan Sameoto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 965–976, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.79

• -tolerant microstructures as gecko adhesives, but to define continuous gaskets for containing fluids. Figure 4 is a compilation of two figures from [35] (“Gecko gaskets for self-sealing and high-strength reversible bonding of microfluidics“) by A. Wasay and D. Sameoto, distributed under the terms of the

The effect of age on the attachment ability of stick insects (Phasmatodea)

• Marie Grote,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 867–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.72

• , adhesive microstructures covering those pads support attachment. Stick insects do not molt again after reaching the imaginal stage; hence, the cuticle of their pads is subject to continuous ageing. This study aims to quantify how attachment ability changes with age in the stick insect Sungaya aeta

• to fly, they adapted strongly to their local environment [11][19][22][23]. Phasmids have evolved considerably depending on plants since pre-angiosperm times [24]. As plants display a huge range of different surface characteristics [25][26][27][28], the diversity of microstructures on phasmatodean

• Labonte and Federle [31] have shown that the arolium and euplantulae each perform different tasks. The arolium is used while climbing upside down, whereas the euplantulae generate friction and are used in upright walking. Phasmid euplantulae are covered with different surface microstructures that are

Investigation on drag reduction on rotating blade surfaces with microtextures

• Qinsong Zhu,
• Chen Zhang,
• Fuhang Yu and
• Yan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 833–853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.70

• better than that of the other two structures. Tian et al. [10] pointed out that, because of the complexity of microstructures on the shark skin surface, it is difficult to use a uniform method to characterize the skin surface. Triangular grooves or rectangular grooves can be used to simplify the

• microstructures on the shark skin surface to study the effects on hydrodynamics and aerodynamics. Within these extremely small structures, a low-speed, stable fluid flow exists, which can mitigate turbulences and enhance the stability of fluid motion within the boundary layer, resulting in a reduction of

• tip leakage, Parkash et al. [19] added grooves at the blade tips and verified their effectiveness through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. After the incorporation of grooves, the turbine efficiency improved by 0.1% to 0.2%. It is evident that arranging microstructures on blade surfaces

Intermixing of MoS₂ and WS₂ photocatalysts toward methylene blue photodegradation

• Maryam Al Qaydi,
• Nitul S. Rajput,
• Michael Lejeune,
• Abdellatif Bouchalkha,
• Mimoun El Marssi,
• Steevy Cordette,
• Chaouki Kasmi and
• Mustapha Jouiad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 817–829, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.68

• yield, their physical properties, and their evolving microstructures. Results and Discussion Structural analysis Raman spectroscopy analysis of the exfoliated samples revealed prominent vibrational modes of hexagonal 2H-MoS2, 2H-WS2, and mixture of both phases, represented by E12g at 382 cm−1 and A1g at

• . The observed flakes have typical shapes such as triangular, hexagonal, pentagonal, and other irregular polygonal shapes. The size of the flakes is within the range of 1 µm. The morphology and the shape of the flakes have common microstructures of MoS2/WS2 materials grown using chemical vapor

Comparative analysis of the ultrastructure and adhesive secretion pathways of different smooth attachment pads of the stick insect Medauroidea extradentata (Phasmatodea)

• Julian Thomas,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 612–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.52

• relatively large adhesive organs that bear no further surface microstructures [47][55][56] and because the droplet morphology of its tarsal secretion has been recently analysed [28][38][47][55][56]. Combining different imaging techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning

Measurements of dichroic bow-tie antenna arrays with integrated cold-electron bolometers using YBCO oscillators

• Leonid S. Revin,
• Dmitry A. Pimanov,
• Alexander V. Chiginev,
• Anton V. Blagodatkin,
• Viktor O. Zbrozhek,
• Andrey V. Samartsev,
• Anastasia N. Orlova,
• Dmitry V. Masterov,
• Alexey E. Parafin,
• Victoria Yu. Safonova,
• Anna V. Gordeeva,
• Andrey L. Pankratov,
• Leonid S. Kuzmin,
• Anatolie S. Sidorenko,
• Silvia Masi and
• Paolo de Bernardis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 26–36, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.3

• Bernardis Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n.a. R.E. Alekseev, Minin Street, 24, Nizhny Novgorod, 603155, Russia Institute for Physics of Microstructures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademicheskaya Street 7, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russia Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience

• Microstructures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPM RAS), with subsequent measurements of the samples in the sorption 3He refrigerator of our laboratory. The 210/240 GHz receiving system is fabricated using a two-layer technology (two lithography steps). During the first photolithography step, a layer of

Hierarchically patterned polyurethane microgrooves featuring nanopillars or nanoholes for neurite elongation and alignment

• Lester Uy Vinzons,
• Guo-Chung Dong and
• Shu-Ping Lin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1157–1168, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.96

• , the question arises: Can discrete structures be combined with continuous structures for possible synergistic effects? Indeed, several studies have fabricated hierarchical discrete nanostructures on continuous microstructures in order to better mimic the micro- and the nanostructure of the native nerve

• demonstrates a promising method for the creation of hierarchical nano-/microstructures on various polymers for nerve implant applications. Results and Discussion Fabrication and characterization of PU nanopillar and nanohole substrates We first fabricated nanopillar and nanohole arrays on medical-grade

• facilitates the creation of nano-/microstructures on substrates of different solvent-castable polymers without the use of expensive equipment. Moreover, the hierarchically patterned microgrooves featuring nanopillars and nanoholes provide an additional strategy for the enhancement of next-generation nerve

Exploring internal structures and properties of terpolymer fibers via real-space characterizations

• Michael R. Roenbeck and
• Kenneth E. Strawhecker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1004–1017, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.83

• investigated the processing and properties of high-performance terpolymer fibers, much remains to be understood about the internal nano- and microstructures of these fibers, and how these morphologies relate to fiber properties. Here we use a focused ion beam notch technique and multifrequency atomic force

• development of future classes of high-performance fibers. Results AFM characterizations of Technora® AFM maps enable direct characterization of both fiber nano- and microstructures in real space. Large-scale maps span across the fiber diameter to highlight prominent microstructural features. For Technora

• contextualize several aspects related to our findings. First, we describe how this real-space characterization provides new information about the Technora® fiber nanostructure. We then focus on fiber microstructures, highlighting how this technique expands upon conclusions from previous studies. Lastly, we

Biomimetics on the micro- and nanoscale – The 25th anniversary of the lotus effect

• Matthias Mail,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Thomas Speck,
• William M. Megill and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 850–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.69

• breadth of biological knowledge is still the foundation on which biomimetics is built. The paper by Mail et al. [17] “Dry under water: air retaining properties of large-scale elastomer foils covered with mushroom-shaped surface microstructures” focuses on superhydrophobic surfaces, not only on water

• properties: an adhesive elastomeric film with mushroom-shaped surface microstructures that mimic the adhesion system of animals. They show that this elastomer foil provides good air retention capabilities and is a promising material for the development of an economically and efficient biomimetic air

The microstrain-accompanied structural phase transition from h-MoO₃ to α-MoO₃ investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction

• Zeqian Zhang,
• Honglong Shi,
• Boxiang Zhuang,
• Minting Luo and
• Zhenfei Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 692–700, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.55

• micrometres in diameter, with a flat and smooth outer surface. In comparison, the hexagonal prisms in the sample calcinated at 400 °C (α-MoO3) are subdivided into numerous tabular microstructures, as displayed in Figure 1d. The tabular microstructures have a thickness of about 100 nm and a width of a few

• , 430, and 450 °C, respectively. The morphologies of the three samples (the inset of Figure S1 in Supporting Information File 1) are, respectively, smooth hexagonal prisms in h-MoO3, phase boundaries between h-MoO3 and α-MoO3, and numerous tabular microstructures in α-MoO3, implying that the h/α phase

• , respectively. (b) Mass fraction of the α-MoO3 phase and the microstrain in the h-MoO3 phase. (c,d) SEM microstructures of samples calcinated at 300 and 450 °C, respectively. Crystal structure of the hexagonal phase MoO3·H2O from the sample calcinated at 375 °C. (a) Result of the Rietveld refinement; (b

ZnO-decorated SiC@C hybrids with strong electromagnetic absorption

• Liqun Duan,
• Zhiqian Yang,
• Yilu Xia,
• Xiaoqing Dai,
• Jian’an Wu and
• Minqian Sun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 565–573, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.47

• photocatalysis, adsorption, and EM absorption [25]. Researchers have developed ZnO-based absorbing materials with different microstructures, such as core–shell structures [26], flower-like structures [27], rod-like structures [28], cage-like structures, and nanoparticles [29][30]. Wu et al. demonstrated that it

• carbon and wax). These findings suggest that SiC@C-ZnO hybrids with diverse microstructures may have a bright future as EM absorbers. Conclusion A new strategy for the controllable fabrication of SiC@C-ZnO hybrids via carbonization and hydrolysis reaction is described. Morphology and permittivity of the

Nanoarchitectonics to entrap living cells in silica-based systems: encapsulations with yolk–shell and sepiolite nanomaterials

• Celia Martín-Morales,
• Jorge Fernández-Méndez,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 522–534, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.43

• sol–gel methods, as well as pre-synthesised yolk–shell bionanohybrids have been studied subsequently. Optical microscopy and SEM confirm that the silica shell microstructures provide a reduced contact between cells. The inorganic matrix increases the survival of the cells and maintains their

• hand, the use of yolk–silica shell (YS) microstructures formed by soft template synthesis was explored [30] to encapsulate living cells with a highly porous SiO2 network aiming to introduce a small interstitial space between the microorganisms and the silica matrix. The latter strategy intends to

• improved transport of nutrients and metabolites across the material. The FE-SEM images in Figure 2C and Figure 2D show the same microorganism cells but previously encapsulated in yolk–shell microstructures. They are arranged differently from those immobilized freely in the silica gel substrate. In the

The origin of black and white coloration of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

• Manuela Rebora,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Silvana Piersanti,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 496–508, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.41

• cuticular micro- and nanostructures present on the surface offer remarkable examples of structural colours in the animal kingdom. The relationship between shining (sometimes iridescent) colors and surface microstructures located on scales has been extensively studied in butterflies, especially in the Morpho

• been described mainly in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera [16][17]. As far as Diptera are concerned, investigations on structural colours are scanty. The aim of the present investigation is to describe in detail the nanostructures and microstructures of the scales in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus

A novel approach to pulsed laser deposition of platinum catalyst on carbon particles for use in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

• Bogusław Budner,
• Wojciech Tokarz,
• Sławomir Dyjak,
• Andrzej Czerwiński,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz and
• Bartłomiej Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 190–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.19

• powerful strategy for materials creation by nanoarchitectonics [10]. Nanoarchitectonics can be used to design and fabricate innovative catalysts by tailoring their molecular composition, surface atomic arrangement, and microstructures [11]. However, it requires harmonizing various techniques and phenomena

Formation of nanoflowers: Au and Ni silicide cores surrounded by SiO_x branches

• Feitao Li,
• Siyao Wan,
• Dong Wang and
• Peter Schaaf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 133–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.14

• decomposed areas, as shown in Figure 2. There are mainly two shapes of microstructures, namely particles and lines. The particles present bright and dark parts. The bright areas should be rich in Au based on the material contrast, and the EDS results also indicate the high Au content in Figure 2. The dark

Atmospheric water harvesting using functionalized carbon nanocones

• Fernanda R. Leivas and
• Marcia C. Barbosa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.1

• ), which use hierarchical nano/microstructures to collect water. Some examples are the Trifolium pratense plant, the Cotula fallax cactus, and the Uloborus walckenaerius spider [14][15][16]. Usually, these biomimetic designs have an asymmetrical shape that energetically drives the directional transport of

Observation of collective excitation of surface plasmon resonances in large Josephson junction arrays

• Roger Cattaneo,
• Mikhail A. Galin and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1578–1588, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.132

• Roger Cattaneo Mikhail A. Galin Vladimir M. Krasnov Stockholm University, Physics Department, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden Institute for Physics of Microstructures RAS, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia 10.3762/bjnano.13.132 Abstract Josephson junctions can be used as sources of microwave radiation