Fig. 1.
Fabrication and characterization of bulk artificial nacre. a Schematic illustration of the bottom-up assembly process of bulk artificial nacre. b Large as-fabricated bulk artificial nacre. Scale bar, 2 cm. c, d Cross-section of the artificial nacre c and natural Cristaria plicata nacre d show the similar fractured layered microstructure. Scale bars, 1 μm. e, f Artificial nacre e and Cristaria plicata nacre f under the same strength of impact, illustrating the higher impact resistance of the artificial nacre. Scale bars, 5 mm