Insight into the interconnections between organic and inorganic materials at the molecular level, De Stasio suggests, could well come about with the new X-ray microscopy techniques. Ultimately, the new results may help humans learn how to mimic the processes that result in nature's material science masterpieces, substances like shell and bone, things that have never before been made from scratch by human hands.
"The hope is that this may inspire new routes for biomimetic synthesis," Banfield says.
De Stasio notes that mollusks, combining a polymer matrix and a mineral, produce shells that are 3,000 times harder than the mineral alone. Scientists have yet to make any composite material that is tougher than any of its individual components.
In addition to De Stasio, Banfield and Chan, co-authors of the Science paper include Susan A. Welch, Maria V. Nesterova and Bradley H. Frazer of UW-Madison; Marco Girasole of the Instituto di Struttura della Materia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy; and Sirine Fakra, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source.
'"/>
Contact: Gelsomina De Stasio
pupa@src.wisc.edu
608-877-2000
University of Wisconsin-Madison
11-Mar-2004