A ubiquitous biological material, keratin represents a group of insoluble, usually high-sulfur
content and filament-forming proteins, constituting the bulk of epidermal appendages such …

Hard biological materials—for example, seashells, bone or wood—fulfil critical structural
functions and display unique and attractive combinations of stiffness, strength and …

Designing and manufacturing multi-functional, lightweight and high-performance body
armour materials and assemblies have attracted intense attention recently due to fast …

Biological materials are typically multifunctional but many have evolved to optimize a chief
mechanical function. These functions include impact or fracture resistance, armor and …

Through evolutionary processes, biological composites have been optimized to fulfil specific
functions. This optimization is exemplified in the mineralized dactyl club of the smashing …

Nacre (known as mother of pearl) is the iridescent inner shell layer of some mollusks. Nacre
is composed of 95 wt% aragonite (a crystallographic form of CaCO3) and 5 wt% organic …

Most natural (or biological) materials are complex composites whose mechanical properties
are often outstanding, considering the weak constituents from which they are assembled …

Nacre (mother-of-pearl), made of inorganic and organic constituents (95 vol% aragonite
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) platelets and 5 vol% elastic biopolymers), possesses a unique …

Hierarchical nanomaterials are highly suitable as electrocatalysts and electrocatalyst
supports in electrochemical energy conversion devices. The intrinsic kinetics of an …

The nacreous portion of the abalone shell is composed of calcium carbonate crystals
interleaved with layers of viscoelastic proteins. The resulting structure yields unique …