Nacre-mimetic composite with intrinsic self-healing and shape-programming capability

Replicating nacre’s multiscale architecture represents a promising approach to design artificial materials with outstanding rigidity and toughness. It is highly desirable yet challenging to incorporate self-healing and shape-programming capabilities into nacre-mimetic composites due to their rigidit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2019-02, Vol.10 (1), p.800-8, Article 800
Main Authors: Du, Gaolai, Mao, Anran, Yu, Jinhong, Hou, Jingjing, Zhao, Nifang, Han, Jingkai, Zhao, Qian, Gao, Weiwei, Xie, Tao, Bai, Hao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
147/135
639/301/1023/1025
639/301/923/1028
639/638/298/923/1028
Alumina
Aluminum oxide
Biomimetics
Calcium carbonate
Chain dynamics
Chemical bonds
Composite materials
Fourier transforms
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Nacre
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Organic chemistry
Polyethylene glycol
Polymers
Replication
Rigidity
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Self healing materials
Shape effects
Shape memory
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Summary:Replicating nacre’s multiscale architecture represents a promising approach to design artificial materials with outstanding rigidity and toughness. It is highly desirable yet challenging to incorporate self-healing and shape-programming capabilities into nacre-mimetic composites due to their rigidity and high filler content. Here, we report such a composite obtained by infiltrating a thermally switchable Diels-Alder network polymer into a lamellar scaffold of alumina. The chemical bond switchability and the physical confinement by the filler endows the composite with sufficient molecular mobility without compromising its thermal dimension stability. Consequently, our composite is capable of self-healing internal damages. Additionally, in contrast to the intractable planar shape of other artificial nacres, precise control of the polymer chain dynamics allows the shape of our composite to be programmed permanently via plasticity and temporarily via shape memory effect. Our approach paves a new way for designing durable multifunctional bioinspired structural materials. Incorporation of self-healing and shape programming capabilities into rigid, structural composite is highly desirable yet challenging. Here, the authors report a nacre-mimetic composite obtained by infiltrating a switchable Diels-Alder network polymer into a scaffold of alumina capable of self-healing internal damage.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-019-08643-x