Scientists in Germany have successfully preserved delicate structural details in scarab beetles by using an ionic polymer to drive carbonisation. Due to their fossil-like and stable carbon structure, the specimens are anticipated to last for thousands of years.
The beetle starts off blue but turns brown when covered with the polymer coating
Jiayin Yuan, who led the study at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, explains how his team discovered the technique: ‘In the past year we began to investigate interactions between poly(ionic liquid)s [PILs] and natural matrixes like cotton. Cotton coated with PIL and carbonised was thermally stable and its natural bio-matrix was preserved. For this reason, and motivated by an intrinsic curiosity typical of us scientists, we wanted to explore and push forward this effect to its limit.’
Interested? Read the full story at Chemistry World.
The original article can be read below:
Microstructure replication of complex biostructures via poly(ionic liquid)-assisted carbonization
Martina Ambrogi, Karoline Täuber, Markus Antonietti and Jiayin Yuan
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 5778-5782
DOI: 10.1039/C5TA00149H
