Bioinspired organic/inorganic synthetic composites have been studied as high-performance and functional materials. In nature, biominerals such as pearls, teeth, and bones are self-organized organic/inorganic composites. The inorganic components are composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and hydroxyapatite (HAp), while the organic components consist of peptides and polysaccharides. These composites are used as structural materials in hard biological tissues. Biominerals do not show significantly higher performances than synthetic composites such as glass-fiber- or carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics. However, biominerals consist of environmentally friendly and biocompatible components that are prepared under mild conditions. Moreover, they form elaborate nanostructures and self-organized hierarchical structures. Much can be learned about material design from these biomineral-based hierarchical and nanostructured composites to assist in the preparation of functional materials.

中文翻译：

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生物矿物启发的胶体液晶：从包含无机纳米晶体和有机聚合物成分的杂化物的组装到其功能化


仿生有机/无机合成复合材料已作为高性能和功能材料进行了研究。在自然界中，珍珠、牙齿和骨骼等生物矿物是自组织的有机/无机复合材料。无机成分由碳酸钙(CaCO ₃ )和羟基磷灰石(HAp)组成，而有机成分由肽和多糖组成。这些复合材料用作硬生物组织的结构材料。生物矿物并没有表现出比玻璃纤维或碳纤维增强塑料等合成复合材料更高的性能。然而，生物矿物质由在温和条件下制备的环保且生物相容的成分组成。此外，它们形成复杂的纳米结构和自组织的分层结构。从这些基于生物矿物的分层和纳米结构复合材料中可以学到很多关于材料设计的知识，以协助功能材料的制备。