Nacreous aramid-mica bulk materials with excellent mechanical properties and environmental stability

Xiao-Feng Pan; Huai-Ling Gao; Kai-Jin Wu; Si-Ming Chen; Tao He; Yang Lu; Yong Ni; Shu-Hong Yu

iScience (Jan 2021)

Nacreous aramid-mica bulk materials with excellent mechanical properties and environmental stability

Xiao-Feng Pan,
Huai-Ling Gao,
Kai-Jin Wu,
Si-Ming Chen,
Tao He,
Yang Lu,
Yong Ni,
Shu-Hong Yu

Affiliations

Xiao-Feng Pan: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Huai-Ling Gao: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Kai-Jin Wu: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Si-Ming Chen: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Tao He: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
Yang Lu: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
Yong Ni: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author
Shu-Hong Yu: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 24, no. 1
p. 101971

Abstract

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Summary: Low density, high strength and toughness, together with good environmental stability are always desirable but hardly to achieve simultaneously for man-made structural materials. Replicating the design motifs of natural nacre clearly provides one promising route to obtain such kind of materials, but fundamental challenges remain. Herein, by choosing aramid nanofibers and mica microplatelets as building blocks, we produce a nacreous aramid-mica bulk material with a favorable combination of low density (∼1.7 g cm−3), high strength (∼387 MPa) and toughness (∼14.3 MPa m1/2), and impressive mechanical stability in some harsh environments, including acid/alkali solutions, strong ultraviolet radiation, boiling water, and liquid nitrogen, standing out from previously reported biomimetic bulk composites. Moreover, the obtained material outperforms other bulk nacre-mimetics and most engineering structural materials in terms of its specific strength (227 MPa/[Mg m−3]) and specific toughness (8.4 MPa m1/2/[Mg m−3]), making it a new promising engineering structural material for different technical fields.

Published in iScience

ISSN: 2589-0042 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.cell.com/iscience/home

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