Architecture of Columnar Nacre, and Implications for Its Formation Mechanism

Journal Article · Fri Jun 29 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.98.268102· OSTI ID:20953381

Metzler, Rebecca A; Olabisi, Ronke M; Coppersmith, Susan N; Abrecht, Mike; Frazer, Bradley H ^[1]; Ariosa, Daniel ^[2]; Johnson, Christopher J ^[3]

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1. Synchrotron Radiation Center, 3731 Schneider Drive, Stoughton, Wisconsin 53589 (United States)
2. Institute for the Physics of Complex Matter, EPF-Lausanne, CH-1015 (Switzerland)
3. Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)

We analyze the structure of Haliotis rufescens nacre, or mother-of-pearl, using synchrotron spectromicroscopy and x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy. We observe imaging contrast between adjacent individual nacre tablets, arising because different tablets have different crystal orientations with respect to the radiation's polarization vector. Comparing previous data and our new data with models for columnar nacre growth, we find the data are most consistent with a model in which nacre tablets are nucleated by randomly distributed sites in the organic matrix layers.

• OSTI ID: 20953381
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 26 Vol. 98; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ABSORPTION
CRYSTALS
GRAIN ORIENTATION
LAYERS
POLARIZATION
SPECTROSCOPY
SYNCHROTRONS