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Microscope images that look this way usually get a lot of their color from polarized light—but not this one. Valeriia Poliukhova, a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech, captured this photo using bright-field optical microscopy on MXene nanosheets embedded in a natural polymer. MXenes are metal-inorganic compounds that form flaky, 2D structures. “This artwork reveals the structural colors of the flakes—shimmering blues, greens, purples, and pinks,” she says. “The vibrant hues and dynamic arrangement of the colors evoke a bustling underwater ecosystem, reminiscent of diverse fish species navigating through lively aquatic scenes.”
Submitted by Valeriia Poliukhova, Georgia Tech
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