Bio-inspired materials science at its best - Flexible mesocrystals of calcite

Minerals are the benchmark of hard and brittle materials. Self-assembled calcitic spicules were recently obtained utilizing a protein from silica biomineralization, silicatein-a. The synthetic spicules show remarkable material properties including extreme flexibility. Breakthroughs in bio-inspired m...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gebauer, Denis
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-VCH Verlag 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52518
Description
Summary:Minerals are the benchmark of hard and brittle materials. Self-assembled calcitic spicules were recently obtained utilizing a protein from silica biomineralization, silicatein-a. The synthetic spicules show remarkable material properties including extreme flexibility. Breakthroughs in bio-inspired materials science are highlighted. Will it be possible to obtain similar composites with truly artificial organic constituents? Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.