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Abstract
Nature utilizes the available resources to construct lightweight, strong and tough materials under constrained environmental conditions. The impact surface of the fast-striking dactyl club from the mantis shrimp is an example of one such composite material; the shrimp has evolved the capability to localize damage and avoid catastrophic failure from high-speed collisions during its feeding activities. Here we report that the dactyl club of mantis shrimps contains an impact-resistant coating composed of densely packed (about 88 per cent by volume) ~65-nm bicontinuous nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite integrated within an organic matrix. These mesocrystalline hydroxyapatite nanoparticles are assembled from small, highly aligned nanocrystals. Under impacts of high strain rates (around 104 s−1), particles rotate and translate, whereas the nanocrystalline networks fracture at low-angle grain boundaries, form dislocations and undergo amorphization. The interpenetrating organic network provides additional toughening, as well as substantial damping, with a loss coefficient of around 0.02. An unusual combination of stiffness and damping is therefore achieved, outperforming many engineered materials.
A coating made from densely packed hydroxyapatite particles in an organic matrix endows the dactyl club of mantis shrimps with high stiffness and energy damping.
Details
; Guarín-Zapata Nicolás 2
; Kirchhofer, Nathan D 3
; Li, Jason 3 ; Cruz, Luz 4 ; Wang Taifeng 4 ; Bhowmick Sanjit 5 ; Stauffer, Douglas 5
; Manimunda Praveena 5
; Bozhilov, Krassimir N 6 ; Caldwell, Roy 7 ; Zavattieri Pablo 2 ; Kisailus, David 8
1 University of California, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Riverside, USA (GRID:grid.266097.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2222 1582); University of California, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Irvine, USA (GRID:grid.266093.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0668 7243)
2 Purdue University, Lyles School of Civil Engineering, West Lafayette, USA (GRID:grid.169077.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 2197)
3 Oxford Instruments Asylum Research, Goleta, USA (GRID:grid.169077.e)
4 University of California, Materials Science and Engineering Program, Riverside, USA (GRID:grid.266097.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2222 1582)
5 Bruker, Minneapolis, USA (GRID:grid.423270.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0491 2576)
6 University of California, Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis, Riverside, USA (GRID:grid.266097.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2222 1582)
7 University of California, Department of Integrative Biology, Berkeley, USA (GRID:grid.47840.3f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2181 7878)
8 University of California, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Riverside, USA (GRID:grid.266097.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2222 1582); University of California, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Irvine, USA (GRID:grid.266093.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0668 7243); University of California, Materials Science and Engineering Program, Riverside, USA (GRID:grid.266097.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2222 1582)