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Transparent and tough bulk composites inspired by nacre

Author

Listed:
  • Tommaso Magrini

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Florian Bouville

    (ETH Zurich
    Imperial College London, Department of Materials)

  • Alessandro Lauria

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Hortense Ferrand

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Tobias P. Niebel

    (ETH Zurich)

  • André R. Studart

    (ETH Zurich)

Abstract

Materials combining optical transparency and mechanical strength are highly demanded for electronic displays, structural windows and in the arts, but the oxide-based glasses currently used in most of these applications suffer from brittle fracture and low crack tolerance. We report a simple approach to fabricate bulk transparent materials with a nacre-like architecture that can effectively arrest the propagation of cracks during fracture. Mechanical characterization shows that our glass-based composites exceed up to a factor of 3 the fracture toughness of common glasses, while keeping flexural strengths comparable to transparent polymers, silica- and soda-lime glasses. Due to the presence of stiff reinforcing platelets, the hardness of the obtained composites is an order of magnitude higher than that of transparent polymers. By implementing biological design principles into glass-based materials at the microscale, our approach opens a promising new avenue for the manufacturing of structural materials combining antagonistic functional properties.

Suggested Citation

  • Tommaso Magrini & Florian Bouville & Alessandro Lauria & Hortense Ferrand & Tobias P. Niebel & André R. Studart, 2019. "Transparent and tough bulk composites inspired by nacre," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10829-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10829-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Seonghee Cho & Minsu Kim & Joongho Ahn & Yeonggeun Kim & Junha Lim & Jeongwoo Park & Hyung Ham Kim & Won Jong Kim & Chulhong Kim, 2024. "An ultrasensitive and broadband transparent ultrasound transducer for ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging in-vivo," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Yuan Chen & Yangzezhi Zheng & Yang Zhou & Wei Zhang & Weihuan Li & Wei She & Jiaping Liu & Changwen Miao, 2023. "Multi-layered cement-hydrogel composite with high toughness, low thermal conductivity, and self-healing capability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.

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