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Continuous self-assembly of organic–inorganic nanocomposite coatings that mimic nacre

Nature volume 394, pages 256–260 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Nanocomposite materials are widespread in biological systems. Perhaps the most studied is the nacre of abalone shell, an orientated coating composed of alternating layers of aragonite (CaCO3) and a biopolymer. Its laminated structure simultaneously provides strength, hardness and toughness: containing about 1 vol. % polymer, nacre is twice as hard and 1,000 times as tough as its constituent phases1. Such remarkable properties have inspired chemists and materials scientists to develop synthetic, ‘biomimetic’ nanocomposite assemblies2,3,4,5. Nonetheless, the efficient processing of layered organic–inorganic composites remains an elusive goal. Here we report a rapid, efficient self-assembly process for preparing nanolaminated coatings that mimic the structure of nacre. Beginning with a solution of silica, surfactant and organic monomers, we rely on evaporation during dip-coating to induce the formation of micelles and partitioning of the organic constituents into the micellar interiors6. Subsequent self-assembly of the silica–surfactant–monomer micellar species into lyotropic mesophases7 simultaneously organizes the organic and inorganic precursors into the desired nanolaminated form. Polymerization fixes this structure, completing the nanocomposite assembly process. This approach may be generalized both to other composite architectures and to other materials combinations.

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Figure 1: Diagrams showing evolution of nanolaminate structure during dip-coating (dip-coating rates ranged from 7.6 to 50.9 cm min−1).
Figure 2: Thin film X-ray diffraction patterns of UV-initiated (a) and thermally-initiated (b) polymerization systems.
Figure 3: Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of nanocomposite coatings at various stages.
Figure 4: Magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR spectra of nanocomposite coatings.
Figure 5: Electron micrographs of nanocomposite coatings prepared using the thermally initiated polymerization system (c0 = 5.0 wt% CTAB) but with different coating rates or substrate surface treatments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Singh, R. Tissot, S. Rao, Y. Guo and D. Schmale for assistance with experimental portions of this work, and M. Aragon and K. Burns for technical illustrations. This work was supported in part by the UNM/NSF Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, DOE Basic Energy Sciences, and SNL's Laboratory-Directed Research and Development Program (LDRD); and by the US Department of Energy. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US Department of Energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico, NSF Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, The Advanced Materials Laboratory, 1001 University Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, 87106, New Mexico, USA

    Alan Sellinger, Pilar M. Weiss, Anh Nguyen, Yunfeng Lu, Roger A. Assink & C. Jeffrey Brinker

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87106, New Mexico, USA

    Weiliang Gong

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  1. Alan Sellinger
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Correspondence to C. Jeffrey Brinker.

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Sellinger, A., Weiss, P., Nguyen, A. et al. Continuous self-assembly of organic–inorganic nanocomposite coatings that mimic nacre. Nature 394, 256–260 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/28354

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