Impact-resistant nacre-like transparent materials

Nacre-inspired toughened glass Nacre is a biological composite that is present in seashells. This composite contains a small amount of organic material that toughens brittle ceramics, such that a highly regular three-dimensional brick-and-mortar assembly of microscopic mineral tablets is bonded together with biopolymers. Synthetic nacres have not been able to capture the large-scale sliding of the bricks that is key to enhancing toughness. Yin...