Layered nanocomposites by shear-flow-induced alignment of nanosheets

Biological materials, such as bones, teeth and mollusc shells, are well known for their excellent strength, modulus and toughness . Such properties are attributed to the elaborate layered microstructure of inorganic reinforcing nanofillers, especially two-dimensional nanosheets or nanoplatelets, wit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2020-04, Vol.580 (7802), p.210-215
Main Authors: Zhao, Chuangqi, Zhang, Pengchao, Zhou, Jiajia, Qi, Shuanhu, Yamauchi, Yoshihiro, Shi, Ruirui, Fang, Ruochen, Ishida, Yasuhiro, Wang, Shutao, Tomsia, Antoni P, Liu, Mingjie, Jiang, Lei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Biomimetic Materials - chemical synthesis
Biomimetic Materials - chemistry
Elastic Modulus
Graphite - chemistry
Hydrogels - chemistry
Influence
Layer structure (Solids)
Mechanical properties
Nacre - chemistry
Nanocomposites - chemistry
Nanotechnology
Shear flow
Tensile Strength
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biological materials, such as bones, teeth and mollusc shells, are well known for their excellent strength, modulus and toughness . Such properties are attributed to the elaborate layered microstructure of inorganic reinforcing nanofillers, especially two-dimensional nanosheets or nanoplatelets, within a ductile organic matrix . Inspired by these biological structures, several assembly strategies-including layer-by-layer , casting , vacuum filtration and use of magnetic fields -have been used to develop layered nanocomposites. However, how to produce ultrastrong layered nanocomposites in a universal, viable and scalable manner remains an open issue. Here we present a strategy to produce nanocomposites with highly ordered layered structures using shear-flow-induced alignment of two-dimensional nanosheets at an immiscible hydrogel/oil interface. For example, nanocomposites based on nanosheets of graphene oxide and clay exhibit a tensile strength of up to 1,215 ± 80 megapascals and a Young's modulus of 198.8 ± 6.5 gigapascals, which are 9.0 and 2.8 times higher, respectively, than those of natural nacre (mother of pearl). When nanosheets of clay are used, the toughness of the resulting nanocomposite can reach 36.7 ± 3.0 megajoules per cubic metre, which is 20.4 times higher than that of natural nacre; meanwhile, the tensile strength is 1,195 ± 60 megapascals. Quantitative analysis indicates that the well aligned nanosheets form a critical interphase, and this results in the observed mechanical properties. We consider that our strategy, which could be readily extended to align a variety of two-dimensional nanofillers, could be applied to a wide range of structural composites and lead to the development of high-performance composites.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-2161-8