Rae Cho, K., Kim, Y.Y., Yang, P. et al. (8 more authors) (2016) Direct observation of mineral-organic composite formation reveals occlusion mechanism. Nature Communications, 7. 10187. ISSN 2041-1723
Abstract
Manipulation of inorganic materials with organic macromolecules enables organisms to create biominerals such as bones and seashells, where occlusion of biomacromolecules within individual crystals generates superior mechanical properties. Current understanding of this process largely comes from studying the entrapment of micron-size particles in cooling melts. Here, by investigating micelle incorporation in calcite with atomic force microscopy and micromechanical simulations, we show that different mechanisms govern nanoscale occlusion. By simultaneously visualizing the micelles and propagating step edges, we demonstrate that the micelles experience significant compression during occlusion, which is accompanied by cavity formation. This generates local lattice strain, leading to enhanced mechanical properties. These results give new insight into the formation of occlusions in natural and synthetic crystals, and will facilitate the synthesis of multifunctional nanocomposite crystals.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC) EP/J018589/1 ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC) EP/K006290/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 16 Feb 2016 12:55 |
Last Modified: | 16 Feb 2016 12:55 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10187 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/ncomms10187 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:95156 |