Transparent and Soft Crack‐Resistant Bouligand Elastomers Inspired by Fish Scales

Abstract

Nature with its abundant source offers numerous inspirations for structural and engineering designs. The oriented membranes stacked with bouligand structures in the fish scales show an outstanding combination of high strength and crack‐resistance. Although the applications of hard biomimetic composites have been reported, the structures have not been utilized in soft materials. Inspired by the scales of various fishes, we use and stack electrospun membranes to fabricate bouligand elastomers, including orthogonal‐plywood, single‐bouligand, and double‐bouligand structures. We systematically investigated the effects of different structures on the properties of elastomers and explained possible mechanism using finite element analysis. The stiffness and fatigue characteristics of these biomimetic elastomers with the above structures were improved compared with the original membranes, especially the elastomers with a single‐bouligand structure, which can undergo 5000 cycles at a maximum strain of 35% without complete failure. The crack only propagates to half of the width of the elastomer with a remaining strength of 50% of its original strength. Moreover, the mechanical performance can be adjusted by regulating the proportion of the components. The excellent crack‐resistant properties and transparency promote its various potential applications.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved