Artifical mother of pearl follows nature's recipe

Jacob Aron, technology reporter

(Image: Nature)

Researchers have made an artificial version of mother of pearl - a material found on the inner shell of some molluscs that forms the outer coating of pearls - by mimicking the way it is created in nature, paving the way for tough coatings made using low-cost materials.

Mother of pearl, also known as nacre, is a composite material made from inorganic layers of calcium carbonate separated by organic polymers such as chitin. This structure gives nacre its iridescent sheen and makes it resilient to damage.

The breakthrough could perhaps give firms a way of coating smartphones or other gadgets that are shiny and nice to look at - but are still incredibly tough.

Previous attempts at creating artificial nacre have mimicked these properties, but have not used the materials that make up the genuine article. These efforts have resulted in something that was strong - and which could be used to provide lighter body armour, for example - but which never looked anything like real nacre. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, have created their own calcium carbonate-based nacre by copying the way it grows naturally, publishing details today in the journal Nature Communications.

First, they repeatedly dipped a glass slide in two solutions of organic polymers to create a thin film, which then underwent another process to create tiny pores within the material. Next, they dipped the slide in an organic polymer solution containing calcium and magnesium ions in a similar ratio to those present when nacre forms naturally, creating the calcium carbonate layer.

Finally, they crystallised both materials, and repeated the process to create a stack of alternating organic and inorganic layers, much like natural nacre.

Journal ref: Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1970

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/21a9fdc0/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Conepercent0C20A120C0A70Cartifical0Emother0Eof0Epearl0Efoll0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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