Ultrastrong Graphene Films via Long-Chain π-Bridging

Abstract

An inexpensive low-temperature process is demonstrated to fabricate resin-free, ultrastrong, supertough, and highly conductive graphene films with ultrahigh electromagnetic interference shielding capability via long-chain p-bridging. The graphene films have record in-plane strength as strong as cross-plied carbon fiber composites and much greater ability to absorb mechanical energy and resist property degradation during repeated severe mechanical deformations. The bioinspired interface design strategy can promote the conversion of natural graphite into high-performance graphene-based nanocomposites having promising applications in aerospace and flexible electronics.

Bio-inspired self-folding strategy to break the trade-off between strength and ductility in carbon-nanoarchitected materials

“…To investigate the effect of different levels of interface interaction including hydrogen bonding, 32 ionic bonding, [33][34][35] π-π bonding, [36][37][38] covalent bonding, [39][40][41][42] and synergistic interactions 17,43,44 that can be integrated in experiments, simulations of SFGMs with a wide range of interface interaction were performed by modifying the Lennard-Jones potential well of AIREBO potential (ϵ). To modulate the interface interaction of SFGMs, the value of ϵ is modified as 1-30 times of the pristine value (ϵ 0 ), corresponding to the interlayer shear moduli of 0.32-10.62 GPa benchmarked in Supplementary Fig.…”

“…[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] For example, Zhang et al 30 prepared graphene films with a tensile strength of 453 MPa by modifying the chemical structures of graphene building blocks. The second strategy is interfacial engineering, including hydrogen bonding, 32 ionic bonding, [33][34][35] π-π bonding, [36][37][38] covalent bonding, [39][40][41][42] and synergistic interactions, 17,43,44 which can be integrated into the graphene-based materials and thus enable the efficient load transfer among the building blocks. For example, Wan et al 44 fabricated graphene films with a tensile strength of 945 MPa by successive application of the optimized ratio of π-π bonding and covalent bonding agents.…”

Nanofibril Organization in Silk Fiber as Inspiration for Ductile and Damage-Tolerant Fiber Design

“…In engineering material designs, the ductile and damagetolerant materials can be achieved by creating metastructures [7,8], designing nanocomposites [9][10][11][12][13] or directly printing layered/patterned 3D architectures [14][15][16][17]. However, these employed techniques, such as laser cutting, vacuum filtration, self-assembly, or 3D-printing, require the materials to have large enough sizes or to withstand violent processing.…”

Nature’s Way: Hierarchical Strengthening through Weakness

“…Second, Wan et al 4 demonstrate that reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets can be bridged by a type of highly p-conjugated long-chain polymer. The resulting p-bridged rGO films exhibit not only superb mechanical properties including tensile strength and toughness, but also extraordinary electrical properties, such as conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, in comparison with untreated rGO films.…”

“…This mechanism is analogous to the tension-shear chain model of mineral-protein composites observed in some biomaterials. 5 The design approaches used in Soler-Crespo et al 3 and Wan et al 4 offer insightful applications of the paradigm to create functional diversity out of simple building blocks. Using hierarchical arrangements to realize new functions has the potential to greatly advance the usefulness of widely abundant graphene materials and design new exquisite functionality into them.…”