Biomimetic Design of Artificial Materials Inspired by Iridescent Nacre Structure and Its Growth Mechanism

ABSTRACT Nacre, the iridescent material found in the innermost layer of seashells, having high strength and toughness was obtained from relatively weak constituents. The excellent mechanical performance of this biological material originates from its hierarchically ordered arrangement of well-tailored hard and soft building blocks. Incorporating these structures into composites is as alluring as conventional engineering materials often sacrifice strength to improve toughness. The unique mechanical properties originated from multiscale deformation regime involving solid-state self-organization process lead efficient energy dissipation which leads to high toughness, these multiscale biological assemblies inspire new synthesis route of complex materials. In this review, we study various mechanisms involved in toughening, methods used in mimicking nacre structure and various strategies for fabricating nacreous architecture which has gleaned new avenues for self-standing, strong, and advanced toughened material. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT