Abstract
Light is a powerful and sustainable resource, but it can be detrimental to the performance and longevity of optical devices. Materials with near-zero light reflectance, i.e. superblack materials, are sought to improve the performance of several light-centered technologies. Here we report a simple top-down strategy, guided by computational methods, to develop robust superblack materials following metal-free wood delignification and carbonization (1500 °C). Subwavelength severed cells evolve under shrinkage stresses, yielding vertically aligned carbon microfiber arrays with a thickness of ~100 µm and light reflectance as low as 0.36% and independent of the incidence angle. The formation of such structures is rationalized based on delignification method, lignin content, carbonization temperature and wood density. Moreover, our measurements indicate a laser beam reflectivity lower than commercial light stoppers in current use. Overall, the wood-based superblack material is introduced as a mechanically robust surrogate for microfabricated carbon nanotube arrays.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 7875 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 14 |
| Early online date | 5 Dec 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2023 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
We are thankful for funding support from Commission H2020 program ERC Advanced Grant (No. 788489, BioELCell), the Canada Excellence Research Chair Program (CERC-2018-00006) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI Project 38623). This work was a part of the Academy of Finland’s Flagship Programme under Project No. 318890 and 318891 (Competence Center for Materials Bioeconomy, FinnCERES). B.Z. is grateful for the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (Project #201702640280), the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion (8716), the Walter Ahlström Foundation (20230049) and the Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology.