TY - JOUR A1 - Seto, J. A1 - Ma, Y. A1 - Davis, S.A. A1 - Meldrum, F. A1 - Gourrier, A. A1 - Kim, Y.-Y. A1 - Schilde, U. A1 - Sztucki, M. A1 - Burghammer, M. A1 - Maltsev, Sergey A1 - Jäger, Christian A1 - Cölfen, H. T1 - Structure-property relationships of a biological mesocrystal in the adult sea urchin spine N2 - Structuring over many length scales is a design strategy widely used in Nature to create materials with unique functional properties. We here present a comprehensive analysis of an adult sea urchin spine, and in revealing a complex, hierarchical structure, show how Nature fabricates a material which diffracts as a single crystal of calcite and yet fractures as a glassy material. Each spine comprises a highly oriented array of Mg-calcite nanocrystals in which amorphous regions and macromolecules are embedded. It is postulated that this mesocrystalline structure forms via the crystallization of a dense array of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor particles. A residual surface layer of ACC and/or macromolecules remains around the nanoparticle units which creates the mesocrystal structure and contributes to the conchoidal fracture behavior. Nature’s demonstration of how crystallization of an amorphous precursor phase can create a crystalline material with remarkable properties therefore provides inspiration for a novel approach to the design and synthesis of synthetic composite materials. KW - Calcium carbonate biomineralization KW - Echinoderm skeleton KW - Hierarchical structuring KW - Mesocrystal KW - Skeletal elements PY - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109243109 SN - 0027-8424 SN - 1091-6490 VL - 109 IS - 10 SP - 3699 EP - 3704 PB - National Academy of Sciences CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-27726 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -