TY  - JOUR
AB  - 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.
A1  - Seto, J.
A1  - Ma, Y.
A1  - Davis, S. A.
A1  - Meldrum, F.
A1  - Gourrier, A.
A1  - Kim, Y.
A1  - Schilde, U.
A1  - Sztucki, M.
A1  - Burghammer, M.
A1  - Maltsev, S.
A1  - Jager, C.
A1  - Colfen, H.
DO  - 10.1073/pnas.1109243109
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
IS  - 10
SP  - 3699
EP  - 3704
C1  - 109(10), 3699-3704
TI  - Structure-property relationships of a biological mesocrystal in the adult sea urchin spine
UR  - https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=162649
VL  - 109
PY  - 2012
Y2  - 2026-07-15
ER  -