It is highly desirable yet challenging to develop sustainable structural materials with excellent mechanical and thermal properties for plastic replacement.  Here, inspired by nacre's multiscale architecture, we report a simple and efficient so called "directional deforming assembly" method to manufacture high-performance structural materials with a unique combination of high strength (281 MPa), high toughness (11.5 MPa m1/2), high stiffness (20 GPa), low coefficient of thermal expansion (7 × 10-6 K-1) and good thermal stability.  Based on all-natural raw materials (cellulose nanofiber and mica microplatelet), the bioinspired structural material possesses better mechanical and thermal properties than petroleum-based plastics, making it a high-performance and eco-friendly alternative structural material to substitute plastics.
THERM