Impact-resistant nacre-like transparent materials

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Abstract

Glass has outstanding optical properties, hardness, and durability, but its applications are limited by its inherent brittleness and poor impact resistance. Lamination and tempering can improve impact response but do not suppress brittleness. We propose a bioinspired laminated glass that duplicates the three-dimensional “brick-and-mortar” arrangement of nacre from mollusk shells, with periodic three-dimensional architectures and interlayers made of a transparent thermoplastic elastomer. This material reproduces the “tablet sliding mechanism,” which is key to the toughness of natural nacre but has been largely absent in synthetic nacres. Tablet sliding generates nonlinear deformations over large volumes and significantly improves toughness. This nacre-like glass is also two to three times more impact resistant than laminated glass and tempered glass while maintaining high strength and stiffness.

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Tough, bio-inspired hybrid materials.

E Münch, M E Launey, D Alsem … (2008)

The notion of mimicking natural structures in the synthesis of new structural materials has generated enormous interest but has yielded few practical advances. Natural composites achieve strength and toughness through complex hierarchical designs that are extremely difficult to replicate synthetically. We emulate nature's toughening mechanisms by combining two ordinary compounds, aluminum oxide and polymethyl methacrylate, into ice-templated structures whose toughness can be more than 300 times (in energy terms) that of their constituents. The final product is a bulk hybrid ceramic-based material whose high yield strength and fracture toughness [ approximately 200 megapascals (MPa) and approximately 30 MPa.m(1/2)] represent specific properties comparable to those of aluminum alloys. These model materials can be used to identify the key microstructural features that should guide the synthesis of bio-inspired ceramic-based composites with unique strength and toughness.

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Bioinspired design and assembly of platelet reinforced polymer films.

Lorenz J Bonderer, André R. Studart, Ludwig J Gauckler (2008)

Although strong and stiff human-made composites have long been developed, the microstructure of today's most advanced composites has yet to achieve the order and sophisticated hierarchy of hybrid materials built up by living organisms in nature. Clay-based nanocomposites with layered structure can reach notable stiffness and strength, but these properties are usually not accompanied by the ductility and flaw tolerance found in the structures generated by natural hybrid materials. By using principles found in natural composites, we showed that layered hybrid films combining high tensile strength and ductile behavior can be obtained through the bottom-up colloidal assembly of strong submicrometer-thick ceramic platelets within a ductile polymer matrix.