Camouflage Coatings: Reconfigurable Infrared Camouflage Coatings from a Cephalopod Protein (Adv. Mater. 39/2013)

Graphene-templated, camouflage coatings that possess several important advantages are demonstrated by Alon A. Gorodetsky and co-workers on page 5621. These coatings are inspired by the unique dynamic camouflage mechanisms or cephalopods. A squid's ability to control transmission and reflection of light can be applied to a substrate and made controllable. Such substrates are shown to be a home window that reflects long wave light (IR) and transmits short wave light. The thin film fabrication strategy is inexpensive, robust, and compatible with a wide range of substrates of arbitrary form factor.