French engineers have developed a ceramic composite that is roughly 10 times tougher than ...

Researchers have finally figured out how nacre – also known as mother of pearl – forms its perfect structure. As one of the strongest naturally-occurring materials known to science, nacre is coveted ...

“If we can engineer concrete to resist crack propagation, we can make it tougher, safer and more durable.” To make their nacre-like composite material, the researchers created hexagonal tablets from ...

Strong, tough but light is the rare but desired combination of properties for numerous artificial materials. Now a new material is similar to natural mother-of-pearl, but twice as strong. Nacre, or ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) The remarkable properties of some natural materials have motivated many researchers to synthesize biomimetic nanocomposites that attempt to reproduce Nature’s achievements and to ...

The iridescent gleam of mother-of-pearl couldn’t come from more milquetoast materials. Mollusks make the stuff, also known as nacre, from calcium carbonate and a smattering of organic matter. Despite ...

Researchers describe, how structural defects in self-assembling nacre attract and cancel each other out, eventually leading to a perfect periodic structure. Mollusks build shells to protect their soft ...