Bioinspired materials with self-adaptable mechanical properties

Nature produces outstanding materials for load-bearing such as bones and woods that can adapt to their environment. However, it has been a challenge for synthetic materials to adapt their properties to address the changes in loading conditions. Inspired by bone mineralization, we report a material system that triggers mineral formation from ionic solutions on scaffolds upon mechanical loadings so that it can self-adapt to mechanical loadings. For example, the mineralization rate within the material system could be modulated by controlling the loading condition, and a 30-180% increase in the modulus of the material was observed upon cyclic loadings whose property change could be modulated by varying the loading condition. We also found that we can form a graded material that is often found in nature, by the one-step process by controlling the stress distribution. We envision that our findings can open new strategies for making synthetic materials with self-adaptable mechanical properties.

Ref. Adv. Mater. 2020, 32, 1906970.