Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 July 2019
Natural structural materials (NSMs) such as nacre, teeth, bones and crustacean exoskeleton are usually made of weak biomaterials arranged in specific structural design imparting them remarkable mechanical characteristics. Such hierarchical structural layouts found in nature encourage designing of mechanically desirable synthetic structural materials (SSMs). Among variety of natural hierarchical layouts, this paper specifically focuses on helicoidal architectural design found in the tough dactyl club of mantis shrimp. We first decode the mechanics behind helicoidal microstructural design and document the development of impact resistant macroscale helicoidal architectured synthetic structural materials (HA-SSMs). Next, near-field electrospinning technique (NFES)- both melt (polycaprolactone) and solution (polyvinylidene fluoride) type has been discussed in detail, as a novel method for developing lab scale 3D biomimetic HA-SSMs in micro-nanoscale. Further, the effect of the helical arrangement, size of substructures and surface treatment on strength and toughness of NFES fabricated HA-SSMs samples is analysed.