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Silvia Vignolini

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Italian physicist and materials scientist

Silvia Vignolini
BornJanuary 1981 (age 43)
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Alma materUniversity of Florence (PhD)
AwardsGibson-Fawcett Award (2018)
Scientific career
FieldsPhotonic Structures in Plants
Metamaterials
Photonic crystals
InstitutionsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
University of Cambridge
University College London
ThesisSub-wavelength probing and modification of complex photonic structures (2010)
Doctoral advisorDiederik Wiersma
Websitewww.ch.cam.ac.uk/person/sv319 Edit this at Wikidata

Silvia Vignolini (born 1981) is an Italian physicist who is Director of research at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and Professor of Chemistry and Bio-materials in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. Her research investigates natural photonics structures, the self-assembly of cellulose and light propagation through complex structures. She was awarded the KINGFA young investigator award by the American Chemical Society and the Gibson-Fawcett Award in 2018.

Early life and education

Vignolini was born in Italy and grew up in Florence. She became interested in physics at high school, and remembers reading A Brief History of Time as a teenager. She studied materials physics at the University of Florence, which she graduated summa cum laude. She remained at the University of Florence for her doctoral research, where she studied photonic crystals at the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy supervised by Diederik Wiersma.

Research and career

Vignolini's research interests are on photonic structures in plants, metamaterials and photonic crystals. After graduating from her PhD, she moved to the University of Cambridge, where she worked in the laboratory of Ullrich Steiner. Vignolini was appointed a lecturer at University College London (UCL) in 2014, but returned to the University of Cambridge less than a year later. In January 2023, Vignolini was appointed Director of research at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Germany while retaining her professor position at the University of Cambridge. Vignolini's research investigates structural coloration. colour that occurs due to the interaction of light with sub-micrometer scale structures as opposed to pigmentation. Structural colour originates from multi-layered materials and surface-level diffraction gratings. Her early work investigated coloration in Pollia condensata, a type of flowering plant that produces strong iridescence. The iridescence occurs due to Bragg reflection from cellulose microfibrils. These fibrils are stacked in a helicoidal-like architecture and the total thickness of the multi-layer structure changes throughout the surface of the Pollia condensata fruits. Vignolini has also studied the bright white shell of the Cyphochilus beetle, whose scales are so thin that they scatter light incredibly efficiently. She has shown that it is possible to tune the colour of self-assembled block copolymer thin films by changing the molecular structure. Vignolini developed the fabrication techniques to guide the self-assembly of the rigid-rod like cellulose nanocrystals and hydroxypropyl cellulose. Cellulose nanocrystals adopt a cholesteric stack-like structure when low concentrations cellulose nanocrystals are suspended in water and left to dry. As the water starts to evaporate, the concentration of cellulose increases, which results in the formation of a cholesteric lyotropic liquid crystalline phase. In this phase the twisted configuration repeats over a distance known as the pitch. The pitch determines the colour of light reflected by the cellulose nanocrystals (larger pitches reflect lower energy, longer wavelength light). Vignolini has shown that optical uniformity and material efficiency can be optimized by drying the cellulose nanocrystal suspension in sessile droplets under a thin oil layer. She has also shown that magnetic fields can be used to manipulate the orientation of the cholesteric domains. Vignolini has studied the reflectance spectrum at a range of different angles, which provides insight into the mechanisms of the self-assembly upon solvent evaporation. Vignolini also highlighted the important role played by bundles of cellulose nanocrystals leading to their chiral arrangement in cholesteric phases.

Vignolini has used her understanding of the interaction of light with complex natural structures to understand the interaction of light and anthocyanin vacuolar inclusions. This understanding can inform the design bionic materials that can achieve outstanding photosynthetic quantum efficiencies. In 2020, she was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant to study how organisms create symbiotic relationships to manage interactions with light.

Selected publications

Her publications include:

  • Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit
  • Biomimetic layer-by-layer assembly of artificial nacre
  • A 3D optical metamaterial made by self-assembly

Awards and honours

She was awarded the American Chemical Society (ACS) KINGFA young investigator award and the Gibson-Fawcett Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2018.

References

  1. ^ Silvia Vignolini publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Vignolini, Silvia (2010). Sub-wavelength probing and modification of complex photonic structures. fupress.com (PhD thesis). Premio Tesi di Dottorato. Vol. 15. Firenze: Firenze University Press. doi:10.36253/978-88-6453-139-7. hdl:2158/456656. ISBN 9788864531373. OCLC 697264764.
  3. "Silvia VIGNOLINI per". Companies House. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. www.ch.cam.ac.uk/person/sv319 Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ Silvia Vignolini publications from Europe PubMed Central
  6. ^ "Items - RSC Gibson-Fawcett Award Lecture with Silvia Vignolini - School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences".
  7. ^ "Silvia Vignolini is the 2018 KINGFA Young Investigator Award Winner". Cellulose and Renewable Materials. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Women in Chemistry, Silvia Vignolini". ch.cam.ac.uk. Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. "Prof. Dr. Silvia Vignolini - AcademiaNet". academia-net.org. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  10. "Silvia Vignolini | Scholar Profile | Peter Wall Institute". pwias.ubc.ca. Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  11. Vignolini, Silvia (2018), "Colours with a twist", youtube.com, TEDx University of Luxembourg, retrieved 17 November 2021
  12. "From discovery science to industrial application: Biomimetic colour engineering from nature to applications | Cambridge Network". cambridgenetwork.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  13. ^ Silvia Vignolini; Paula J Rudall; Alice V Rowland; et al. (10 September 2012). "Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109 (39): 15712–15715. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10915712V. doi:10.1073/PNAS.1210105109. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3465391. PMID 23019355. Wikidata Q36300720.
  14. "Professor Silvia Vignolini | Bio-inspired Photonics". ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. Jacucci, Gianni; Bertolotti, Jacopo; Vignolini, Silvia (2019). "Role of Anisotropy and Refractive Index in Scattering and Whiteness Optimization". Advanced Optical Materials. 7 (23): 1900980. doi:10.1002/adom.201900980. hdl:10871/39198. ISSN 2195-1071. S2CID 203140407.
  16. Syurik, Julia; Jacucci, Gianni; Onelli, Olimpia D.; Hölscher, Hendrik; Vignolini, Silvia (2018). "Bio-inspired Highly Scattering Networks via Polymer Phase Separation". Advanced Functional Materials. 28 (24): 1706901. doi:10.1002/adfm.201706901. ISSN 1616-3028. S2CID 103634467.
  17. "Block Copolymer Self-Assembly | Bio-inspired Photonics". ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  18. Droguet, Benjamin E.; Liang, Hsin-Ling; Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Parker, Richard M.; De Volder, Michael F. L.; Baumberg, Jeremy J.; Vignolini, Silvia (11 November 2021). "Large-scale fabrication of structurally coloured cellulose nanocrystal films and effect pigments" (PDF). Nature Materials. 21 (3): 352–358. doi:10.1038/s41563-021-01135-8. ISSN 1476-4660. PMID 34764430. S2CID 243991373.
  19. Guidetti, Giulia; Atifi, Siham; Vignolini, Silvia; Hamad, Wadood Y. (2016). "Flexible Photonic Cellulose Nanocrystal Films". Advanced Materials. 28 (45): 10042–10047. Bibcode:2016AdM....2810042G. doi:10.1002/adma.201603386. ISSN 1521-4095. PMC 5495155. PMID 27748533.
  20. Dumanli, Ahu Gumrah; Kamita, Gen; Landman, Jasper; Kooij, Hanne van der; Glover, Beverley J.; Baumberg, Jeremy J.; Steiner, Ullrich; Vignolini, Silvia (2014). "Controlled, Bio-inspired Self-Assembly of Cellulose-Based Chiral Reflectors". Advanced Optical Materials. 2 (7): 646–650. doi:10.1002/adom.201400112. ISSN 2195-1071. PMC 4515966. PMID 26229742.
  21. "Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Self-Assembly | Bio-inspired Photonics". ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  22. Guidetti, Giulia; Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Dumanli, Ahu G.; Hamad, Wadood Y.; Vignolini, Silvia (15 November 2021). "Effect of thermal treatments on chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystal films" (PDF). Carbohydrate Polymers. 272: 118404. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118404. ISSN 0144-8617. PMID 34420763.
  23. Zhao, Tianheng H.; Parker, Richard M.; Williams, Cyan A.; Lim, Kevin T. P.; Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Vignolini, Silvia (2019). "Printing of Responsive Photonic Cellulose Nanocrystal Microfilm Arrays". Advanced Functional Materials. 29 (21): 1804531. doi:10.1002/adfm.201804531. ISSN 1616-3028. S2CID 104663112.
  24. Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Guidetti, Giulia; Kamita, Gen; Vignolini, Silvia (2017). "Controlling the Photonic Properties of Cholesteric Cellulose Nanocrystal Films with Magnets". Advanced Materials. 29 (32): 1701469. Bibcode:2017AdM....2901469F. doi:10.1002/adma.201701469. ISSN 1521-4095. PMID 28635143. S2CID 205280234.
  25. Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Kamita, Gen; Guidetti, Giulia; Vignolini, Silvia (17 April 2019). "Angular optical response of cellulose nanocrystal films explained by the distortion of the arrested suspension upon drying". Physical Review Materials. 3 (4): 045601. Bibcode:2019PhRvM...3d5601F. doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.045601. PMC 7116400. PMID 33225202.
  26. Parton, Thomas G.; Parker, Richard M.; van de Kerkhof, Gea T.; Narkevicius, Aurimas; Haataja, Johannes S.; Frka-Petesic, Bruno; Vignolini, Silvia (12 May 2022). "Chiral self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals is driven by crystallite bundles". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 2657. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30226-6. PMC 9098854. PMID 35550506.
  27. "Light management for photosynthesis | Bio-inspired Photonics". ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  28. Wangpraseurt, Daniel; You, Shangting; Azam, Farooq; Jacucci, Gianni; Gaidarenko, Olga; Hildebrand, Mark; Kühl, Michael; Smith, Alison G.; Davey, Matthew P.; Smith, Alyssa; Deheyn, Dimitri D. (9 April 2020). "Bionic 3D printed corals". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 1748. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.1748W. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15486-4. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7145811. PMID 32273516.
  29. "Cambridge researchers awarded European Research Council funding". University of Cambridge. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  30. Alexander Finnemore; Pedro Cunha; Tamaryn Shean; Silvia Vignolini; Stefan Guldin; Michelle Oyen; Ullrich Steiner (24 July 2012). "Biomimetic layer-by-layer assembly of artificial nacre". Nature Communications. 3: 966. Bibcode:2012NatCo...3..966F. doi:10.1038/NCOMMS1970. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 22828626. Wikidata Q46290231.
  31. Silvia Vignolini; Nataliya A Yufa; Pedro S Cunha; et al. (24 October 2011). "A 3D optical metamaterial made by self-assembly". Advanced Materials. 24 (10): OP23-7. doi:10.1002/ADMA.201103610. ISSN 0935-9648. PMID 22021112. Wikidata Q60229339.
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