Nxylon is a material derived from wood that's notable for being super-black: it absorbs 99% of the light that hits it, making it appear unusually dark—if not quite as dark as Vantablack paint. It was created by accident by a research team at the University of British Columbia working on making wood waterproof.
Professor Philip Evans and PhD student Kenny Cheng were experimenting with high-energy plasma to make wood more water-repellent. However, when they applied the technique to the cut ends of wood cells, the surfaces turned extremely black. Measurements by Texas A&M University's department of physics and astronomy confirmed that the material reflected less than one per cent of visible light, absorbing almost all the light that struck it. Instead of discarding this accidental finding, the team decided to shift their focus to designing super-black materials, contributing a new approach to the search for the darkest materials on Earth.
Specifically, high-energy plasma applied to the cut ends of basswood. The name, Nxylon, is inspired by Nyx, the goddess of night, and Xylon, Greek for wood. Depending on finish, it can replace ebony and onyx in jewellery; one prototype application is in watch faces.
