Toughening through Nature-Adapted Nanoscale Design

The extraordinary combination of strength and toughness attained by nature’s highly sophisticated structural design in nacre has inspired the synthesis of novel nanocomposites. In this context, the organic−inorganic hierarchical design of nacre has been mimicked. However, two key features of nacre,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2009-12, Vol.9 (12), p.4103-4108
Main Authors: Burghard, Zaklina, Zini, Lorenzo, Srot, Vesna, Bellina, Paul, Aken, Peter A. van, Bill, Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomimetic Materials - chemistry
Catalytic methods
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Crystallization - methods
Elastic Modulus
Exact sciences and technology
Hardness
Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties
Macromolecular Substances - chemistry
Materials science
Materials Testing
Mechanical and acoustical properties of condensed matter
Mechanical properties of nanoscale materials
Methods of nanofabrication
Molecular Conformation
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanostructures - ultrastructure
Nanotechnology - methods
Particle Size
Physics
Surface Properties
Surfaces and interfaces
thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
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Summary:The extraordinary combination of strength and toughness attained by nature’s highly sophisticated structural design in nacre has inspired the synthesis of novel nanocomposites. In this context, the organic−inorganic hierarchical design of nacre has been mimicked. However, two key features of nacre, namely the scaling of the structural components and the low content of the organic phase, have not been replicated yet. Here, we present thin nanocomposite films with properly adjusted thicknesses of the organic and inorganic layers, as well as a microstructure that closely resembles that of nacre. These films, which are obtained by the combination of low-temperature chemical bath deposition of titania with layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes, exhibit enhancement in a fracture toughness by a factor of 4, combined with notable increase in hardness, while the Young’s modulus is largely preserved in comparison to the single titania layer. Our findings highlight the significance of the 10:1 inorganic/organic layer thickness ratio evolved by nature, and provide novel perspectives for the future development of efficient bioinspired thin films.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/nl902324x