The creation of pigments in the laboratory
Do you know mauveine? If this word doesn't mean anything to you, know that it is the first synthetic dye created in a laboratory. Developed accidentally in 1856 by British chemist William Henry Perkin, this dye resembles an “intense violet.”
Since then, the creation of pigments and dyes has been increasingly present in laboratories, and is used in many fields such as painting, printing, photography and even textiles.
Recently, researchers from the Adaptive Clothing Design Laboratory (RAD) of the College of Human Ecology (CHE), located at Cornell University (USA), succeeded in reproducing absolute black, defined as a color that reflects less than 0.5% of incident light.
The darkest fabric ever
In a study published on November 26, 2025 in the journal
Nature Communicationthe researchers explained that they had dyed a white merino wool fabric with polydopamine, a synthetic material inspired by nature, particularly in chemistry, biomaterials and nanotechnology.
They then processed this tissue in a plasma chamber, which is a device used to modify the surface of a material on a very small scale. In the case of this study, this technique was used to create tiny, pointy growths called nanofibrils.
These two steps allowed the research team to produce the darkest fabric ever, with an average total reflectance of 0.13%. Zoe Alvarez, a fashion design student, created a black strapless dress using absolute black fabric from Cornell University, reports Phys.org.
A shade inspired by a bird
In their study, the researchers explained that they were inspired by the feathers of the “riflebird”, a bird that is part of the birds of paradise family (Paradisaeidae), and present in New Guinea and Australia.
Its intense black plumage is due to melanin and barbules, small filaments at the level of the feathers, very tight which reflect the light inwards, absorbing it almost entirely.
“The riflebird has these really interesting hierarchical structures, the barbules, as well as the melanin. So we wanted to combine these aspects in a textile,” said Larissa Shepherd, assistant professor in the Department of Human-Centered Design (CHE), in comments reported by
Phys.org.
Source: Phys.org
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