Fig. 12

3D nacre-inspired bulk materials with ultrahigh hard-phase content. a Production of Al₂O₃-glass nacre-inspired bulk composites. Morphology of the composites at the b microscale, c mesoscale, and d nanoscale showing the layered structure. e Typical bending stress-strain curves. Reproduced with permission⁹⁵. f Fabrication scheme of synthetic nacre through in situ mineralization. g, h SEM images from the cross-section and top section, respectively. i, j Low- and high-magnification SEM images of the fracture surface. Scale bars, 3 μm (g); 100 μm (h); 40 μm (i); and 2 μm (j). Reproduced with permission⁸³