Engineering news
The researchers from McGill University in Quebec, Canada, were inspired by the material properties of the tough inner layer of mollusc shells. Instead of shattering upon impact, the new glass reportedly has the resiliency of plastic and could be used to improve mobile phone screens, among other applications.
While techniques like tempering and laminating can help reinforce glass, the researchers said those methods are costly and no longer work once the surface is damaged.
“Until now there were trade-offs between high strength, toughness, and transparency,” said associate professor Allen Ehrlicher. “Our new material is not only three-times stronger than the normal glass, but also more than five-times more fracture resistant.”
The new glass and acrylic composite mimics nacre, also known as mother of pearl. “Nature is a master of design. Studying the structure of biological materials and understanding how they work offers inspiration, and sometimes blueprints, for new materials,” said Ehrlicher.
“Amazingly, nacre has the rigidity of a stiff material and durability of a soft material, giving it the best of both worlds. It’s made of stiff pieces of chalk-like matter that are layered with soft proteins that are highly elastic. This structure produces exceptional strength, making it 3,000-times tougher than the materials that compose it.”
The scientists took the architecture of nacre and replicated it with layers of glass flakes and acrylic, yielding an exceptionally strong yet opaque material that could be produced easily and inexpensively. The team then went a step further to make the composite optically transparent.
“By tuning the refractive index of the acrylic, we made it seamlessly blend with the glass to make a truly transparent composite,” said lead author Ali Amini, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill.
The researchers plan to improve the material by incorporating technology that could allow the glass to change properties such as colour, mechanics, and conductivity.
The research was published in Science.
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