The Nacre: An Ancient Nanostructured Biomaterial

Abstract

Nacre is a much appreciated natural material which forms in the interior of numerous mollusc shells. Its remarkable optical and mechanical properties are due to a highly nanostructured combination of inorganic and organic components, which has not been reproduced by any industrial process to date. In this paper we briefly review the current knowledge on the composition, structure, properties and mechanisms of formation of this iconic biomaterial.