Bio-Based Artificial Nacre with Excellent Mechanical and Barrier Properties Realized by a Facile In Situ Reduction and Cross-Linking Reaction

Abstract

Demands for high strength integrated materials have substantially increased across various kinds of industries. Inspired by the relationship of excellent integration of mechanical properties and hierarchical nano/microscale structure of the natural nacre, a simple and facile method to fabricate high strength integrated artificial nacre based on sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and borate cross-linked graphene oxide (GO) sheets has been developed. The tensile strength and toughness of cellulose-based hybrid material reached 480.5 ± 13.1 MPa and 11.8 ± 0.4 MJm by a facile in situ reduction and cross-linking reaction between CMC and GO (0.7%), which are 3.55 and 6.55 times that of natural nacre. This hybrid film exhibits better thermal stability and flame retardancy. More interestingly, the hybrid material showed good water stability compared to that in the original water-soluble CMC. This type of hybrid has great potential applications in aerospace, artificial muscle, and tissue engineering.

Bacterially Produced, Nacre‐Inspired Composite Materials

“…Our composite material can be deposited on‐site since its production does not require the use of complex instruments, and its chemical resistance is predicted to be comparable to that of other calcium carbonate‐based coatings, which offer excellent protection against chemical degradation and weathering. Our bacterial composites are therefore promising for applications, for example, in civil engineering for crack prevention or remediation in biocement, in CO 2 sequestration, in the automotive and aerospace industries for the production of lightweight structural components, as protective coatings for dust or erosion control, or for conservation of ornamental stone or cultural heritage items …”

Role of Interface Interactions in the Construction of GO‐Based Artificial Nacres

“…The interface in the nacre induces multiple toughening mechanism, such as mineral bridging, nanoasperities shearing, organic gluing, and tablet interlocking, [1] as shown in Figure 3. [122][123][124][125][126][127][128] In addition, different interface interactions could be reasonably combined to result in synergistic effect, [111,[129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139] which is similar to the multiple interface interactions in nacre. [48,75,[91][92][93][94] The interfacial crosslinking strategies contain hydrogen bonding, [95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114] ionic bonding, …”

“…[48,75,[91][92][93][94] The interfacial crosslinking strategies contain hydrogen bonding, [95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114] ionic bonding, [81,[115][116][117][118] π-π interaction, [119][120][121] and covalent bonding. [122][123][124][125][126][127][128] In addition, different interface interactions could be reasonably combined to result in synergistic effect, [111,[129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136]…”

Mechanical enhancement of amine‐functionalized TiO2 reinforced polyimine composites

“…It was found that the tensile strength of the polyimine composites could be mildly enhanced by introduction of TiO 2 MS, while their toughness was dramatically reduced. The enhancement of tensile strength could be the result of the hydrogen bonding between the TiO 2 MS and polyimine network, which increases the interfacial strength of the composites …”

“…Over recent decades, polymeric nanocomposites have demonstrated superior performance ranging from mechanical properties to electrical conductivity, combining the advantages of polymer and nanoparticle fillers . Therefore, polymeric composites fabricated by introducing inorganic fillers into the polymer matrix have become the focus of tremendous research in recent years to meet various application requirements .…”