Biological materials found in Nature such as nacre and bone are well recognized as light‐
weight, strong, and tough structural materials. The remarkable toughness and damage …

Aiming at the problem of the “inverse relationship” between the hardness (wear resistance)
and toughness of the traditional single homogeneous structure coating on the surface of …

Living organisms have ingeniously evolved functional gradients and heterogeneities to
create high-performance biological materials from a fairly limited choice of elements and …

Dental enamel is the hardest and most mineralized tissue in extinct and extant vertebrate
species and provides maximum durability that allows teeth to function as weapons and/or …

Natural structural materials are built at ambient temperature from a fairly limited selection of
components. They usually comprise hard and soft phases arranged in complex hierarchical …

Eight structural elements in biological materials are identified as the most common amongst
a variety of animal taxa. These are proposed as a new paradigm in the field of biological …

Discontinuous fibre composites represent a class of materials that are strong, lightweight
and have remarkable fracture toughness. These advantages partially explain the …

Nature has evolved efficient strategies to synthesize complex mineralized structures that
exhibit exceptional damage tolerance. One such example is found in the hypermineralized …

Natural composites are often heterogeneous to fulfil functional demands. Manufacturing
analogous materials remains difficult, however, owing to the lack of adequate and easily …

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