| Abstract Scope |
Porous materials or cellular solids such as foams and honeycombs are widely found in both biological and engineering systems, as they offer good mechanical efficiency and possible multifunctionality, such as acoustic insulation, thermal protection, etc. Both natural and engineering cellular solids are usually composed of polycrystalline or amorphous constituents, which can be metallic, polymeric, ceramic, or composites. Here we present a unique natural cellular solid system found in the biomineralized skeletal elements (known as ossicles) of the starfish Protoreaster nodosus, which exhibits a diamond-triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) geometry with a lattice constant of ~30 um. More interestingly, this architected microlattice is composed of a single-crystalline calcite, where the crystallographic symmetries between calcite and the diamond-TPMS microlattice are aligned. In this talk, I will discuss our understanding on this unique system’s structure, mechanical properties, and on-going work on formation mechanisms and bio-inspired designs. |