(69d) Biomimetic Significance Of The Nanofeatures and Nanomechanical Properties Of Organic Thin Films In Nacre

Many of important advances in materials engineering have come from transitioning to thinking of materials and their properties on the nano-scale rather than on the macro- or even micro-scale. Improvements in imaging technology have allowed us to see the nanofeatures that directly impact the chemical and mechanical properties of natural and man-made materials. This has been especially transformative to the study of the structure and failure modes of nacre, one of nature’s most impressive composites which provides inspiration to the field of biomimetics. Now that these characteristics can be quantified and these features can be imaged, for the first time scientists have begun to determine the importance of nanoasperities and structure of the organic layer in nacre. This project investigates the structure of the organic component of nacre; specifically its mechanical properties, self-assembly, and interactions with the inorganic layer. Plasma-etching has only recently begun to be applied to nacre and has not been previously used to investigate the organic layer. The plasma-etching allowed me to selectively remove organic components and document their relative placement in the organic layer. I then applied these principles to explain the existence of the relatively less discussed “dome” platelets, to rationalize their role in the organic layer, and to analyze their potential benefits for biomimetic materials.