Mesocrystalline structure and mechanical properties of biogenic calcite from sea urchin spine. Issue 3 (20th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cölfen, Helmut; Bürgi, Hans-Beat; Chernyshov, Dmitry; Stekiel, Michal; Chumakova, Aleksandra; Bosak, Alexei; Wehinger, Björn; Winkler, Bjoern
• Is Part Of: Acta crystallographica. Volume 78:Issue 3-1(2022)
• Page Start: 356
• Page End: 358
• Publication Date: 2022-04-20
• Subjects: biogenic calcite -- X‐ray diffuse scattering -- inelastic X‐ray scattering -- mechanical properties
• DOI: 10.1107/S2052520622000634
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2052-5206

Abstract

Abstract : Diffuse scattering and inelastic scattering were probed by X‐rays and compared for inorganically formed natural calcite and biogenic calcite from the sea urchin spine. The differences in the mechanical properties between the `strong' biogenic and `brittle' abiotic material are attributed to a mesoscopic architecture of the spine. Abstract : Using X‐ray scattering, we measured detailed maps of the diffuse scattering intensity distribution and a number of phonon dispersion branches for a single crystal of inorganically formed natural calcite and for high‐quality mesocrystals of biogenic calcite from a Mediterranean sea urchin spine. A comparison shows that the known differences in the mechanical properties between the `strong' biogenic and `brittle' abiotic material should be attributed to the mesoscopic architecture of the crystal rather than to a modification of the calcite crystal structure. The data are rationalized by comparing them to the results of ab initio model calculations of lattice dynamics. For the mesocrystal, they are augmented by the evaluation of the faceting of the constituent nanocrystals.