Harnessing renewable energy has been a prominent strategy to promote environmental conservation. Butterfly wings exhibit many unique properties, such as their striking wing coloration, light absorption mechanisms, and responses to various stimuli. For many years researchers have tried to replicate the intricate features of nature to develop artificial functional materials such as sensors, robotics, photovoltaics, and many more.
How have Butterfly Wings Inspired Scientists?
Butterflies are lepidopteran insects that have always intrigued researchers. Initially, scientists were more interested in the biological characteristics of a butterfly; for instance, they pointed out that chitin is the main component of butterfly wing scales. Some of the most intriguing characteristic features of these scales include interchangeable high and low refractive indices and their dimension ranges of a few hundred nanometers.
Butterfly wing comprises one bilayer scale of fused cover scales in the upper layer and small fused ground scales in the lower layer. Numerous nanostructured wing scales are arranged in an uneven, overlapping ordering, ridge ornamentation, and have periodicities between 140 and 2000 nm.
Microarchitecture of the wings revealed that each scale has a distinct shape, parallel or inclined arrangement, pigmented or unpigmented, concave or hemispherical curvature, and porous lumen. These arrangements are responsible for visible light scattering.
Solar Energy and Butterfly Wings
At present, there is a high demand for renewable sources of energy, such as solar. Despite being renewable, solar energy has not yet gained much popularity owing to some significant constraints that include its high cost.
Once harvested, this source has to be immediately used as storing solar power requires installing large and expensive batteries. Additionally, solar energy is inconsistent and can be used only during the daytime.
One of these avenues has led scientists to take inspiration from the nanostructures of butterfly wings.
An example of the technologies associated with harvesting energy from solar light is by using Solar photovoltaic (Solar PV), which converts sunlight directly into electricity using solar PV cells. The performance of photovoltaic cells is dependent on the surface of the nanomaterial used, e.g., titanium dioxide.
Researchers have developed a second-generation solar PV cell, which is a thin-film solar cell comprised of layers of micron-think photon-absorbing materials deposited on a flexible substrate.
Although this technology is cost-effective, it is not as efficient as regular solar PV cells. A way to overcome this shortcoming has been explored by studying how a butterfly’s wings absorb sunlight.
Some of the unique properties of butterfly wings that have helped improve solar technologies are their large surface area, porous architectures, stimuli responsiveness, and light manipulation.
Image Credit: Matee Nuserm/Shutterstock.com
A group of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have recently reported the development of solar cells based on the nanostructure of butterfly wings, which has increased the rate of light absorption by up to 200%.
The “common rose” butterfly or Pachliopta aristolochiae, is commonly found in South and Southeast Asia. This species of butterfly has predominantly black wings with some white and red spots.
The scales present on the wings not only provide protection but also absorb sunlight and turn it into heat while the scales capture the solar energy over a wide range of angles and wavelengths and maintain the body temperature.
Scientists studied the wings of this butterfly under an electron microscope and developed a three-dimensional model of the nanostructure of the wings. They found that the wings were covered with randomly spaced holes of about less than one micrometer wide, making the wings lighter and also scattering the sunlight striking them, which enables maximum absorption of sunlight throughout the day.
Thin-Films Inspired by Wings
Using this concept, the research team developed a similar thin-film structure comprised of a layer of tiny holes on top of a silicon base. Interestingly, they found this material could roughly absorb twice as much light as other designs.
Scientists are optimistic that this design can improve the efficiency of the thin-film cells significantly and would greatly impact the solar industry.
Comparative studies have considered the development of organic solar cells using silver butterfly wings architecture. These solar cells comprise a one-dimensional periodic array of plasmonic butterfly-wing shaped nanostructures which increase light absorption, scattering, and trapping of the incident optical radiation at multiple wavelengths. The elevated light scattering promotes increased path length of light and improved light intensity to the overall surface area.
Scientists believe that these advancements could bring about a major change in the utilization of solar energy. An increase in the use of this energy could help protect the environment from various forms of pollution and resist rapid climatic changes.
News
AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics
Mental health services around the world are stretched thinner than ever. Long wait times, barriers to accessing care and rising rates of depression and anxiety have made it harder for people to get timely help. As a result, governments and health care providers are [...]
Global life expectancy plunges as WHO warns of deepening health crisis Post-COVID
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm on the long-term health repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic in its newly released World Health Statistics Report 2025. The report reveals a staggering decline in global [...]
Researchers map brain networks involved in word retrieval
How are we able to recall a word we want to say? This basic ability, called word retrieval, is often compromised in patients with brain damage. Interestingly, many patients who can name words they [...]
Melting Ice Is Changing the Color of the Ocean – Scientists Are Alarmed
Melting sea ice changes not only how much light enters the ocean, but also its color, disrupting marine photosynthesis and altering Arctic ecosystems in subtle but profound ways. As global warming causes sea ice in the [...]
Your Washing Machine Might Be Helping Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Spread
A new study reveals that biofilms in washing machines may contain potential pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, posing possible risks for laundering healthcare workers’ uniforms at home. Washing healthcare uniforms at home could be [...]
Scientists Discover Hidden Cause of Alzheimer’s Hiding in Plain Sight
Researchers found the PHGDH gene directly causes Alzheimer’s and discovered a drug-like molecule, NCT-503, that may help treat the disease early by targeting the gene’s hidden function. A recent study has revealed that a gene previously [...]
How Brain Cells Talk: Inside the Complex Language of the Human Mind
Introduction The human brain contains nearly 86 billion neurons, constantly exchanging messages like an immense social media network, but neurons do not work alone – glial cells, neurotransmitters, receptors, and other molecules form a vast [...]
Oxford study reveals how COVID-19 vaccines prevent severe illness
A landmark study by scientists at the University of Oxford, has unveiled crucial insights into the way that COVID-19 vaccines mitigate severe illness in those who have been vaccinated. Despite the global success of [...]
Annual blood test could detect cancer earlier and save lives
A single blood test, designed to pick up chemical signals indicative of the presence of many different types of cancer, could potentially thwart progression to advanced disease while the malignancy is still at an early [...]
How the FDA opens the door to risky chemicals in America’s food supply
Lining the shelves of American supermarkets are food products with chemicals linked to health concerns. To a great extent, the FDA allows food companies to determine for themselves whether their ingredients and additives are [...]
Superbug crisis could get worse, killing nearly 40 million people by 2050
The number of lives lost around the world due to infections that are resistant to the medications intended to treat them could increase nearly 70% by 2050, a new study projects, further showing the [...]
How Can Nanomaterials Be Programmed for Different Applications?
Nanomaterials are no longer just small—they are becoming smart. Across fields like medicine, electronics, energy, and materials science, researchers are now programming nanomaterials to behave in intentional, responsive ways. These advanced materials are designed [...]
Microplastics Are Invading Our Arteries, and It Could Be Increasing Your Risk of Stroke
Higher levels of micronanoplastics were found in carotid artery plaque, especially in people with stroke symptoms, suggesting a potential new risk factor. People with plaque buildup in the arteries of their neck have been [...]
Gene-editing therapy shows early success in fighting advanced gastrointestinal cancers
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have completed a first-in-human clinical trial testing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique to help the immune system fight advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The results, recently published in The Lancet Oncology, show encouraging [...]
Engineered extracellular vesicles facilitate delivery of advanced medicines
Graphic abstract of the development of VEDIC and VFIC systems for high efficiency intracellular protein delivery in vitro and in vivo. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59377-y. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59377-y Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a technique [...]
Brain-computer interface allows paralyzed users to customize their sense of touch
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists are one step closer to developing a brain-computer interface, or BCI, that allows people with tetraplegia to restore their lost sense of touch. While exploring a digitally [...]
