Bio-inspired heterogeneous metacrystal for high-efficiency solar energy harvesting

Solar energy harvesting, analogous to natural photosynthesis, offers a promising solution to global energy challenges. However, the current designs struggle to fully utilize the solar spectrum and face limitations related to polarization sensitivity and angular stability. Here, we present a metacrystal inspired by diatoms and embedded within a sunflower-like Fibonacci quasi-crystal framework. The ultra-broadband absorption of metacrystal aligns with the solar spectrum, exceeding 98.3% across the 400-760 nm range with polarization- and incident-angle-insensitive performance. The design introduces a new, to the best our knowledge, route toward advanced solar energy conversion based on nature-inspired metastructures, paving the way for emerging applications in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and photothermal conversion.