title: Unveiling the formation mechanism of pseudo-single-crystal aragonite platelets in nacre.
abstract: We demonstrate direct evidence that a single-crystal-like aragonite platelet is essentially assembled with aragonite nanoparticles. The aragonite nanoparticles are readily oriented and assembled into pseudo-single-crystal aragonite platelets via screw dislocation and amorphous aggregation, which are two dominant mediating mechanisms between nanoparticles during biomineralization. These findings will advance our understanding of nacre's biomineralization process and provide additional design guidelines for developing biomimetic materials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 300 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA. lixiao@engr.sc.edu
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zaiwang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003460:Crystallization; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002119:Calcium Carbonate