Synthesis and properties of ZnFe2O4 replica with biological hierarchical structure

•ZFO replica with hierarchical structure was synthesized from butterfly wings.•Biotemplate has a significant impact on the properties of ZFO material.•Our method opens up new avenues for the synthesis of spinel ferrites.

ZnFe2O4 replica with biological hierarchical structure was synthesized from Papilio paris by a sol–gel method followed by calcination. The crystallographic structure and morphology of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope, and transmittance electron microscope. The results showed that the hierarchical structures were retained in the ZFO replica of spinel structure. The magnetic behavior of such novel products was measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer. A superparamagnetism-like behavior was observed due to nanostructuration size effects. In addition, the ZFO replica with “quasi-honeycomb-like structure” showed a much higher specific capacitance of 279.4 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1 in comparison with ZFO powder of 137.3 F g−1, attributing to the significantly increased surface area. These results demonstrated that ZFO replica is a promising candidate for novel magnetic devices and supercapacitors.