One-dimensional inorganic ionic polymerization for elastic minerals

The inherent brittleness arising from atomic close-packing of inorganic ionic minerals significantly limits their potential applications as elastic materials. Inspired by elastomers and tough minerals, we propose a one-dimensional (1D) inorganic ionic polymerization tactic for developing elastic minerals. Guided by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) chains, calcium silicate oligomers (CSO) undergo 1D polymerization, forming highly flexible PVA/CSO ionic-molecular chains. These chains are hierarchically assembled into nanofibers and bundles, which further crosslink to a flexible network. This structure enables the PVA/CSO bulk to maintain high hardness (~0.78 GPa), Young's modulus (~20.63 GPa), and specific strength (~74.53 MPa g⁻¹ cm³), while also achieving elastic recovery after 5000 cycles at 10% strain, hence being termed an elastic mineral. Furthermore, smart elastic minerals have been developed and serve as sensors for real-time warning. The proposed 1D inorganic ionic polymerization tactic breaks the boundaries between minerals and elastomers, paving the way for producing high-performance elastic minerals.