Seto, J., Ma, Y., Davis, S. A., Meldrum, F., Gourrier, A., Kim, Y.-Y., Schilde, U., Sztucki, M., Burghammer, M., Maltsev, S., Jäger, C. & Cölfen, H. 2012. Structure-property relationships of a biological mesocrystal in the adult sea urchin spine . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS Early Edition, 1-6.

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10.1073/pnas.1109243109 [view]

Seto, J.; Ma, Y.; Davis, S. A.; Meldrum, F.; Gourrier, A.; Kim, Y.; Schilde, U.; Sztucki, M.; Burghammer, M.; Maltsev, S.; Jager, C.; Colfen, H.

2012

109(10), 3699-3704

Publication

Structuring over many length scales is a design strategy widely used in Nature to create materials with unique functional properties. We here present a comprehensive analysis of an adult sea urchin spine, and in revealing a complex, hierarchical structure, show how Nature fabricates a material which diffracts as a single crystal of calcite and yet fractures as a glassy material. Each spine comprises a highly oriented array of Mg-calcite nanocrystals in which amorphous regions and macromolecules are embedded. It is postulated that this mesocrystalline structure forms via the crystallization of a dense array of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor particles. A residual surface layer of ACC and/or macromolecules remains around the nanoparticle units which creates the mesocrystal structure and contributes to the conchoidal fracture behavior. Nature’s demonstration of how crystallization of an amorphous precursor phase can create a crystalline material with remarkable properties therefore provides inspiration for a novel approach to the design and synthesis of synthetic composite materials.

Echinoidea

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