Nanomechanical properties of bioinspired organic-inorganic composite films

Nacre-like thin films are fabricated via a bioinspired route combining chemical bath deposition of the inorganic component (TiO2) and layer-by-layer alternate adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes for the organic component (see figure). Nanoindentation testing revealed an increase in hardness and Young's modulus imparted by the alternate-layer architecture of the composite films.