Bioinspired High Tolerant Vein–Membrane Al 2 O 3 Coating

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 33; no. 30
• Main Authors: Wu, Chao, Lin, Fan, Pan, Xiaochuan, Zeng, Yingjun, Chen, Guochun, Xu, Lida, Fu, Yanzhang, He, Yingping, Chen, Qinnan, Sun, Daoheng, Hai, Zhenyin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-07-2023
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202215135

Abstract
The vein–membrane structure inspired by insect wings is applied to the artificial structural design of materials, with the aim of enhancing the intrinsic low strain tolerance and bonding strength of Al
2
O
3
coating. Al
2
O
3
platelets with high aspect ratio are used as veins, forming a bioinspired vein–membrane structure along with the Al
2
O
3
membrane. Further, Al
2
O
3
platelets take “root” in the substrate, forming a bioinspired root–soil interlocking structure. The greatest highlight of this coating is that it can restrict the cracks to the submicron area enclosed by the vein. The multi‐bioinspired structure enabled the Al
2
O
3
coating to sustain strains as high as 8%, which is 2 orders of magnitude higher than the reported failure strain of Al
2
O
3
film. The bonding strength is also increased by at least five times. The vein–membrane structure opens a novel technological space for the artificial structural design of materials.