Diamond-Structured Titania Photonic-Bandgap Crystals from Biological Templates

Photonic crystal scales with a diamond‐based lattice from the weevil Lamprocyphus augustus are transformed into a high‐dielectric titania replica by a biotemplating double‐imprint route. Multidirectional optical reflectance spectroscopy of the replicated structure gives an angle‐independent reflection band in the visible spectrum, in agreement with photonic band structure calculations, which reveal the formation of a complete photonic bandgap at visible frequencies.