Biomaterials such as bone,teeth,nacre and silk are known to have superior mechanical properties due to their specific nanocomposite structures.Here we report that the woodpecker's tongue exhibits a novel strength ...Biomaterials such as bone,teeth,nacre and silk are known to have superior mechanical properties due to their specific nanocomposite structures.Here we report that the woodpecker's tongue exhibits a novel strength and flexibility due to its special composite micro/nanostructure.The tongue consists of a flexible cartilage-and-bone skeleton covered with a thin layer tissue of high strength and elasticity.At the interface between the cartilage-and-bone skeleton and the tissue layer,there is a hierarchical fiber-typed connection.It is this special design of the tongue that makes the woodpeckers efficient in catching the insects inside trees.The special micro/nanostructures of the woodpecker's tongue show us a potential method to enhance the interfacial connection between soft and hard material layers for bio-inspired composite system designs.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Projects Nos. 10672035,10802019,10721062 and 90816025).
文摘Biomaterials such as bone,teeth,nacre and silk are known to have superior mechanical properties due to their specific nanocomposite structures.Here we report that the woodpecker's tongue exhibits a novel strength and flexibility due to its special composite micro/nanostructure.The tongue consists of a flexible cartilage-and-bone skeleton covered with a thin layer tissue of high strength and elasticity.At the interface between the cartilage-and-bone skeleton and the tissue layer,there is a hierarchical fiber-typed connection.It is this special design of the tongue that makes the woodpeckers efficient in catching the insects inside trees.The special micro/nanostructures of the woodpecker's tongue show us a potential method to enhance the interfacial connection between soft and hard material layers for bio-inspired composite system designs.
