Marine creatures are a great source of inspiration for materials scientists looking to develop stronger and better structures. Researchers led by Virginia Tech found that the skeleton of the Protoreaster nodosus starfish offers valuable insights into designing porous calcium carbonate.
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Artists and scientists alike find inspiration in nature. But two recent scientific studies found inspiration in the same creature: the mantis shrimp. The creature’s incredibly tough materials and complex eyes inspired innovations that could lead to fracture-resistant biocomposites and highly advanced optical sensors.
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An international team of researchers developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for creating nacre, which could be used in a wide range of applications, from biomedical implants to moon habitats.
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Researchers at the University of Konstanz in Germany have shown that they can engineer stronger cement by giving the material a nano-level brick and mortar structure. Adding polymer binders into cement to control its nanostructure, the researchers developed a material 40–100 times more fracture resistant than standard concrete.
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Scientists have discovered that a brittle starfish has the capability to create a durable “tempered” ceramic material while underwater. Its process is similar to the creation of tempered glass, but without the heating and cooling process.
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Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken inspiration from conch shells to develop a 3-D printing technique that can build composite materials with incredible toughness.
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By studying how fish scales deform, interact, and fracture, scientists at McGill University have uncovered mechanisms to translate that flexible strength into principles to engineer puncture-resistant gloves that can maintain dexterity while protecting workers with superior appendage protection.
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Scientists create first 2-D electride, researchers use nature’s weaving formula to engineer advanced functional materials, and other materials stories that may be of interest for January 18, 2017.
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Researchers at the University of Manchester in the U.K. have devised a strategy that gives new use to diatom shells, using the silica shells as scaffolds for building atomic sheets of molybdenum disulfide.
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Researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab have developed a new durable, antireflective, superhydrophobic glass coating that offers important improvements over its predecessors.
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