New approach for fabrication of folded-structure SiO₂ using oyster shell

Inspired by the phenomenological differences of layers in oyster shell and the morphological mimicry of SiO₂ thin film, a folded-structure SiO₂ was created by simple spray deposition system. The folded-structure SiO₂ was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer and microindentation. At the molecular level, the chalky and the folia were assembled and determined through biomineralization based on the differences of soluble protein in layers. At the macro-scale, the granular SiO₂ particles deposited at the surface of shell layers or Ca(OH)₂ and grew into thin film, thus leading to mimic the morphology of substrate.