Glass etched with intricate micropatterns is much tougher than normal glass, report Francois Barthelat and his colleagues at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
The researchers were inspired by natural materials such as tooth enamel and nacre in mollusc shells, which are stiff and hard, but not brittle. In these structures, cracks are unable to spread rapidly because they are forced to travel along tortuous or interlocking channels that are criss-crossed by proteins holding the structure together. The researchers etched similar patterns into glass (pictured) and filled in the gaps with shock-absorbent polyurethane, creating a material that is 200 times tougher than standard glass.
The approach could be used to make brittle materials such as ceramics shatter-resistant.
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Tiny cracks toughen up glass. Nature 506, 9 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/506009e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/506009e
