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The paper presents an original method for the template synthesis of biomimetic porous composites using polyferrophenylsiloxane (PFPS) and the skeleton of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius as a structuring template. The study aimed to form an organosilicon base of a composite with an inverted structure relative to the original structure of the sea urchin shell with a period of structure movement of about 20 µm and ceramic composites fabrication with the silicate base with an average pore size distribution of about 10 μm obtained by the reaction of PFPS with the inorganic base of the sea urchin test under conditions of calcination at 1000 °C followed by acid etching. The composition and morphology of the obtained composites were investigated by IR, XRD, XPS, EDX, and SEM techniques and by mercury porosimetry; the parameters of the porous structures depend on the selected methods of their synthesis. The proposed method is of fundamental importance for developing methods for the chemical synthesis of new biomimetics with a unique porosity architecture based on environmentally friendly natural raw materials for a vast practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology, chemical composition and electrical properties of long monoaxonic spicules of the deep-sea hexactinellid sponge Hyalonema sieboldi were studied. In this paper we show for the first time that the spicules have an electrical resistance and can produce the piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric properties of the organosilicon spicules seem to result from their complex multilayered organization. Mechanical tension can be detected between these layers in different parts of the spicules that disappears following the destruction of a spicule. Our findings on the presence of the piezoelectric effect in composite organosilicon material of the hexactinellid spicules may contribute to the creation of biomimetic materials capable of generating light emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]