@article{SetoMaDavisetal.2012,
  author    = {Seto, Jong and Ma, Yurong and Davis, Sean A. and Meldrum, Fiona and Gourrier, Aurelien and Kim, Yi-Yeoun and Schilde, Uwe and Sztucki, Michael and Burghammer, Manfred and Maltsev, Sergey and J{\"a}ger, Christian and C{\"o}lfen, Helmut},
  title     = {Structure-property relationships of a biological mesocrystal in the adult sea urchin spine},
  series = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  volume    = {109},
  journal   = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  number    = {10},
  publisher = {National Acad. of Sciences},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0027-8424},
  doi       = {10.1073/pnas.1109243109},
  pages     = {3699 -- 3704},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Structuring overmany length scales is a design strategy widely used in Nature to create materials with unique functional properties. We here present a comprehensive analysis of an adult sea urchin spine, and in revealing a complex, hierarchical structure, showhow Nature fabricates a material which diffracts as a single crystal of calcite and yet fractures as a glassy material. Each spine comprises a highly oriented array of Mg-calcite nanocrystals in which amorphous regions and macromolecules are embedded. It is postulated that this mesocrystalline structure forms via the crystallization of a dense array of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor particles. A residual surface layer of ACC and/or macromolecules remains around the nanoparticle units which creates the mesocrystal structure and contributes to the conchoidal fracture behavior. Nature's demonstration of howcrystallization of an amorphous precursor phase can create a crystalline material with remarkable properties therefore provides inspiration for a novel approach to the design and synthesis of synthetic composite materials.},
  language  = {en}
}