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Elephant ivory: A low thermal conductivity, high strength nanocomposite

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Abstract

There has been much recent interest in heat transport in nanostructures, and alsoin the structure, properties, and growth of biological materials. Here we present measurements of thermal properties of a nanostructured biomineral, ivory. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of ivory is anomalously low in comparison with its constituent components. Low-temperature (2300 K) measurements ofthermal conductivity and heat capacity reveal a glass-like temperature dependenceof the thermal conductivity and phonon mean free path, consistent with increased phonon-boundary scattering associated with nanostructure. These results suggest that biomineral-like nanocomposite structures could be useful in the design of novel high-strength materials for low thermal conductivity applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Research in Materials and Department of Physics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, B3H 4J3

    Michael B. Jakubinek & Champika J. Samarasekera

  2. Institute for Research in Materials and Departments of Physics and Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, B3H 4J3

    Mary Anne White

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  1. Michael B. Jakubinek
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  2. Champika J. Samarasekera
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  3. Mary Anne White
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Correspondence to Mary Anne White.

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Jakubinek, M.B., Samarasekera, C.J. & White, M.A. Elephant ivory: A low thermal conductivity, high strength nanocomposite. Journal of Materials Research 21, 287–282 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2006.0029

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