1. ABOUT THE DATASET -------------------- Title: Data for 'Coupled multilayer-interfacial architecture enables environmentally responsive structural colour in wings of damselfly Neurobasis' Creators: Rox Middleton [1]; Jeton Koxha [1]; Alan R Bowman [2]; James Bettess [3]; Gunjan Tyagi [4]; Fanny Nascimento Costa [5]; Omer Can Karaman [2]; Giulia Tagliabue [2]; Sepideh Khodaparast [3] Organisations: [1] Department of Physics, University of Bath, UK. [2] Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technologies (LNET), STI, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. [3] School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, UK. [4] Chemical Engineering Department, Imperial College London, UK. [5] The Bragg Centre for Materials Research, University of Leeds, UK. Publication year: 2026 (as recorded in the deposit spreadsheet). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5518/1948 (reserved deposit identifier). Description: Experimental measurements, microscopy images, processed data and MATLAB code supporting a study of structural colour in Neurobasis damselfly wings. The dataset includes wing mass and thickness measurements, ATR-FTIR, DSC, XRD, SEM, cryo-SEM, TEM and EDS data; angular reflectance spectra; optical and temperature measurements during heating and laser exposure; humidity-dependent spectra and RGB analysis; and a multilayer optical model with refractive-index inputs. Comparisons include intact, dewaxed and thermally modified wings, with Neurobasis chinensis and cicada membrane data where indicated. Cite as: Middleton, Rox; Koxha, Jeton; Bowman, Alan R; Bettess, James; Tyagi, Gunjan; Nascimento Costa, Fanny; Karaman, Omer Can; Tagliabue, Giulia; Khodaparast, Sepideh (2026): Data for 'Coupled multilayer-interfacial architecture enables environmentally responsive structural colour in wings of damselfly Neurobasis'. University of Leeds. [Dataset] https://doi.org/10.5518/1948. Contact: Sepideh Khodaparast, s.khodaparast@leeds.ac.uk; Rox Middleton, rm2950@bath.ac.uk. Related publication: Middleton, R.; Koxha, J.; Bowman, A. R.; Bettess, J.; Tyagi, G.; Nascimento Costa, F.; Karaman, O. C.; Tagliabue, G.; Khodaparast, S. Coupled multilayer-interfacial architecture enables environmentally responsive structural color in wings of damselfly Neurobasis. Manuscript supplied for documentation. Publication status and final bibliographic details to be confirmed. 2. TERMS OF USE --------------- We make data available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC-BY). The licence version recorded for this deposit is Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Rights-holder details require confirmation before release. Third-party code retains its own notices: colorMatchFcn.m states Copyright 1993-2005 The MathWorks, Inc. Its redistribution terms and any required code licence must be checked before depositing. The dataset licence does not replace third-party terms. 3. PROJECT AND FUNDING INFORMATION ---------------------------------- Study: Coupled multilayer-interfacial architecture enables environmentally responsive structural colour in wings of damselfly Neurobasis. Project dates: 2021-2026. Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowship TMPFP2-217040 (Alan R. Bowman); Swiss National Science Foundation, Eccellenza Grant 194181 (Giulia Tagliabue). Acknowledged support: Leeds Institute of Fluid Dynamics; Martin Fuller (TEM sample preparation); Zabeada Aslam and Stuart Micklethwaite, Leeds Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Centre (EDS/TEM and cryo-SEM support). 4. CONTENTS ----------- The following names reproduce the deposited folder names exactly. Figure references in names are navigation aids and may reflect manuscript numbering. Consult the file content and final paper when matching figures. ATR-FTIR_Fig1e-FigS3-DigS7 ATR-FTIR spectra of intact forewings, hindwings and wax, and comparison spectra for Neurobasis kaupi and N. chinensis (Fig. 1e, S3 and S7). 5 files; formats: .csv, .xlsx. CryoSEM_Fig5b-FigS10 Cryo-SEM images of intact hindwings at labelled relative humidities (Fig. 5b and S10). 8 files; formats: .tif. DSC_SI-table1 DSC protocol, sample list, heat-flow traces and transition analysis supporting supplementary Table 1. 1 files; formats: .xlsx. EDS_Fig1d EDS exports for dark stripe, light stripe and nanoparticle regions (Fig. 1d). 3 files; formats: .csv. Humidity responseFig5e-FigS11-FigS12 Reflectance peak shifts and RGB intensity analysis during humidification and drying (Fig. 5e, S11 and S12). 3 files; formats: .xlsx. Microscopy_laser_exposure_Fig4d Laser-exposure microscopy images and paired acquisition metadata, grouped by wavelength. 114 files; formats: .jpg, .txt. Multilayer_model MATLAB multilayer optical model, chitin refractive-index inputs and example model outputs. 7 files; formats: .fig, .m, .mat, .png. Photothermal response_Fig4 Illumination temperature measurements and SEM images of photothermally modified wing regions. 6 files; formats: .tif, .xlsx. SEM_fig4-FigS7 SEM images of intact, dewaxed and thermally modified hindwing surfaces (Fig. 4 and S7). 11 files; formats: .tif. Spectroscopy_HeatingData_Fig4d Heating reflectance spectra, references, image sequences, MATLAB processing and derived plots. 593 files; formats: .asv, .fig, .jpg, .m, .mat, .png, .txt, .zip. Spectroscopy_NBK_angular_measurements_Fig3e Angular reflectance measurements and plots for intact and chloroform-dewaxed N. kaupi wings. 9 files; formats: .db, .fig, .mat, .png. Spectroscopy_NBK_humidity_Fig5d-FigS11 Humidity-dependent spectra and plots for intact and dewaxed wings, including hourly measurements. 30 files; formats: .db, .mat, .png. TEM_Fig1d-FigS2 TEM cross-sectional images of male N. kaupi hindwings (Fig. 1d and S2). 3 files; formats: .tiff. Wing mass-thickness_Fig1b-Fig2c Wing masses, SEM-derived membrane thicknesses and multilayer thickness measurements. 3 files; formats: .xlsx. XRD_Fig2a-Fig2d-FigS4 XRD data for N. kaupi wings, cicada membrane, dewaxed wings and extracted wax. 4 files; formats: .xlsx. laserData_Fig4c-FigS9 Laser-exposure spectra, images, references, MATLAB processing and plots, including 600 nm power and duration series. 256 files; formats: .fig, .jpg, .m, .mat, .png, .txt. prepostWaxSets Reflectance measurements and MATLAB processing before and after wax removal or thermal treatment. 42 files; formats: .csv, .m, .mat, .png. colorMatchFcn.m MATLAB colour-matching helper used by processing and modelling scripts; retains its original copyright notice. 1 files; formats: .m. Formats and interpretation XLSX: measurements, protocol information and derived calculations; open with spreadsheet software. CSV/TXT: text exports; preserve headers and delimiters. TIFF/JPEG: microscopy images, sometimes paired with TXT acquisition metadata. PNG: rendered plots. MAT: MATLAB arrays/structures. FIG: MATLAB figures. M: MATLAB scripts/functions. ZIP: compressed supporting material. ASV: MATLAB autosave backup. Thumbs.db files are operating-system thumbnails and are not scientific data. Naming: NBK = Neurobasis kaupi; NBCh = Neurobasis chinensis; PI = Pomponia intermedia. RH is relative humidity (%). CHCl3/chloroform indicates solvent treatment. Intact, dewaxed, pre/post, forewing/hindwing, male/female and colour-region labels identify sample groups. Numeric specimen labels are local identifiers and should not be assumed to identify the same specimen across folders. Exposure labels include nm, uW, mW, s and degrees where recorded. FigS denotes a supplementary figure. Key variables and units - ATR-FTIR: wavenumber (cm^-1), absorbance (dimensionless). - Wing measurements: mass (g), membrane/layer thickness (nm), image measurements (pixels), mean and standard deviation where labelled. - DSC: time (s), heat flow (W g^-1), sample/reference temperature (degrees C), integrated heat (mJ or J g^-1). - XRD: diffraction angle (2theta, degrees), intensity, TimePerStep and ESD as exported. d-spacing appears in some tables; units and export-field definitions should be confirmed against instrument records. - Humidity spectra: time (h), peak wavelength (nm) and error columns. Error definition is not specified in the workbook. - RGB: time (min), mean red/green/blue channel intensities (camera units), blue/green ratio and normalised ratio (dimensionless). - Photothermal: time (s), temperature (degrees C), including bare-thermocouple control. - EDS CSV files contain paired x/y export columns with generic labels. The energy-axis unit, intensity scaling and auxiliary-series meanings require confirmation before quantitative reuse. - Optical spectra: wavelength in nm where labelled, reference/dark measurements and sample signals. Normalised reflectance is distinct from raw detector counts. Use acquisition headers and associated processing scripts for each export. Blank cells can mark layout gaps or unavailable entries and must not be treated as zero. MATLAB scripts use NaN for unavailable/padded array entries. Some RGB tables use small nonzero initial values (e.g. 0.0001); these have been retained without reinterpretation. Software and reproduction Use MATLAB for MAT, FIG and M files. The exact MATLAB release was not documented. The model calls jreftran_rt (jreftran v2.1.0), which is not included in the inspected folder. The source link is recorded in the model script. Scripts also use fit, smooth and colour-conversion operations; establish the required toolboxes in the target MATLAB installation. Add the root folder containing colorMatchFcn.m to the MATLAB path. Run each analysis from its own data folder and adapt Windows-style path separators and configured filenames/output locations for the local system. Check reference acquisitions and exposure correction factors in the scripts. Scripts were inspected but not executed as part of this documentation work. 5. METHODS ---------- Dry Neurobasis specimens were obtained from commercial suppliers in Indonesia. The manuscript reports mass measurements on 10 independent wing pairs, electron-microscopy measurements from five regions of each of three wings, FTIR measurements on three independent wings, and RGB humidity-response measurements averaged across three wings from different insects. ATR-FTIR: Bruker Tensor 27 with DTGS detector and Platinum diamond ATR accessory; 64 scans, 4 cm^-1 resolution, 4000-600 cm^-1. A clean dry crystal provided the background. Spectra were examined as absorbance in OPUS without further processing. DSC: intact wings were ground and analysed in aluminium pans using a heat-cool-heat protocol from 30 to 120 degrees C at 5 degrees C/min. The deposited workbook includes the protocol, sample information and traces. XRD: Malvern Panalytical Empyrean, Cu K-alpha source (1.5406 and 1.5444 angstrom). The manuscript specifies 2theta 2-70 degrees and 0.03 degree steps; deposited tables contain the actual exported angle grid. Wings were mounted flat. Wax was transferred mechanically or extracted in chloroform and recrystallised. Cicada membrane provided a comparison. SEM: Hitachi SU8230, maximum accelerating voltage 5 kV, with 10 nm iridium coating. Cross-sections were cut and mounted vertically. For cryo-SEM, wings were humidified overnight before analysis. TEM/STEM: resin embedding, microtoming, copper grids and 10 nm carbon coating on both sides. TESCAN Tensor EDS: 50 pA probe current, 0.6 nm beam diameter, 12 mrad collection semi-angle and 30 s acquisition per point. Photothermal analysis: Thorlabs OSL2 halogen illumination over an approximately 5 mm region; calibrated K-type thermocouple on the ventral side and Pico Technology logger. Acquisition interval 0.1 s, 5 s baseline and 5 s illumination followed by cooling. Ambient conditions 20 +/- 1 degrees C and approximately 30-40% RH. Measurements were repeated at least three times, with a bare-thermocouple control. Angular spectroscopy: custom goniometer, Ocean Optics DH-2000-BAL source and FLAME-S-UV-VIS-ES spectrometer, with Spectralon reference and custom MATLAB processing. Laser/heating spectroscopy: Nikon Eclipse Ti2 NanoMicroSpec-Transmission system, Princeton Instruments Spectra Pro HRS-500 and PIXIS 256 camera. Reflectance was normalised to a Thorlabs silver mirror. Laser exposure used an NKT supercontinuum source with SuperK VARIA filter. Heating used a Thorlabs HT19R with independent TH10K thermistor calibration. Acquisition filenames retain wavelength, power, temperature and exposure information where recorded. Modelling: one-dimensional transfer-matrix calculations in MATLAB using jreftran v2.1.0. The model includes chitin/melanised-chitin bilayers, dense and graded wax layers, and a 2 micrometre absorbing underlayer. Chitin refractive-index inputs are deposited as MAT files. Wax refractive index is 1.5. See manuscript section 4.8 and SI Fig. S8 for the geometry and source of optical constants. Humidity: spectra were measured hourly at approximately 85-95% RH. RGB measurements used approximately 85% RH during swelling and 25% RH during drying. The manuscript reports image acquisition at one frame/minute; deposited RGB tables list their own time points. Mean RGB intensities, blue/green ratios and normalised ratios track colour change. See SI Fig. S12 for processing. These methods summarise section 4 of the supplied manuscript.