Junqing Chen, Shanshan Wang, Erlantz Lizundia, Le Yu, Yuying Wu, Jie Zhou, Sen Wang, Jing Huang, Fengze Ding, Ziyang Lu, Lu Chen, Wengen Ouyang, Dingfeng Xu, Jun You, Chaoji Chen
The development of sustainable plastic alternatives derived from natural components, such as biopolymers and minerals, represents a promising strategy to mitigate the escalating problem of plastic pollution. Here, by employing a nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) strategy, a hydro-processable mineral-dominated structural material, called "mineral hydroplastic" (M-Hydroplastic), is developed. High-mineral-content (up to 75 wt %) hydrogels are fabricated through in situ polymerization of specific monomers and shaped under mild conditions through polymer chain rearrangement triggered by nonsolvent exposure. Further pressing-assisted desolvation optimizes the orientation of mineral sheets, yielding hydro-processable high-mineral-content plastics with combined features of mineral (flexural strength, 90.6 MPa; hardness, 0.23 GPa; and flame retardancy) and plastic (low density of ∼1.5 g cm-3 and facile moldability). Combined experimental and computational analyses reveal that strong intercomponent hydrogen bonding and a nacre-like micro-structure underpin the material's exceptional mechanical performance. This versatile strategy is applicable to various minerals, producing a family of robust hydroplastics with tunable optical, thermal, and radiative properties. Such adaptability enables the design of multifunctional, flame-retardant materials for multi-scenario energy-efficient building applications. This work reconciles ceramic-like mechanical properties with polymer-like processability, providing crucial insights into designing next-generation plastic alternatives for engineering applications.