Beetle-mania: White bug inspires Seprify’s cellulose pigment
In Switzerland, biomaterials startup Seprify has developed a cellulose-based alternative to the ubiquitous white pigment titanium dioxide by drawing inspiration from an unlikely source: the Cyphochilus beetle. The creepy crawly, found mostly in Southeast Asia, appears exceptionally white because its thin scales have a complex, porous structure that scatters light efficiently.
“It’s not hard to make anything white, but making white using very little material and very thin films is the challenge that this beetle, over thousands of years of evolution, has solved very well,” Seprify’s CEO and cofounder, Lukas Schertel, told Fast Company.
Titanium dioxide is cheap to produce but petroleum-based and banned as a food additive in Europe and capped at 1% in the US. Schertel said its beetle-inspired, wood-based alternative is a drop in solution, requiring no formulation for downstream users.
Ikea is already exploring the use of Seprify’s pigment in furniture.
Category: Chemicals & Materials
