Abstract
Nature has evolved hierarchical structures of hybrid materials with excellent mechanical properties. Inspired by nacre’s architecture, a ternary nanostructured composite has been developed, wherein stacked lamellas of 1D vanadium pentoxide nanofibres, intercalated with water molecules, are complemented by 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. The components self-assemble at low temperature into hierarchically arranged, highly flexible ceramic-based papers. The papers’ mechanical properties are found to be strongly influenced by the amount of the integrated GO phase. Nanoindentation tests reveal an out-of-plane decrease in Young’s modulus with increasing GO content. Furthermore, nanotensile tests reveal that the ceramic-based papers with 0.5 wt% GO show superior in-plane mechanical performance, compared to papers with higher GO contents as well as to pristine V2O5 and GO papers. Remarkably, the performance is preserved even after stretching the composite material for 100 nanotensile test cycles. The good mechanical stability and unique combination of stiffness and flexibility enable this material to memorize its micro- and macroscopic shape after repeated mechanical deformations. These findings provide useful guidelines for the development of bioinspired, multifunctional systems whose hierarchical structure imparts tailored mechanical properties and cycling stability, which is essential for applications such as actuators or flexible electrodes for advanced energy storage.
Highlights
Thereby enhancing the strength and toughness of such composite materials in a synergistic manner[21,22]
Wang et al.[24] reported a hierarchical, layered composite material composed of 2D clay and 1D nanofibrillar cellulose embedded into a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix
From Atomic force microscopy (AFM) height profiles, the fibres thickness is estimated to be 1.5 nm (Supplementary Fig. S1). This value is in good agreement to that for single nanofibres composed of two corrugated single sheets made of square VO5 pyramidal units, having oxygen-functionalities on their surface and water molecules located in between[30,31]
Summary
Thereby enhancing the strength and toughness of such composite materials in a synergistic manner[21,22]. Wang et al.[24] reported a hierarchical, layered composite material composed of 2D clay and 1D nanofibrillar cellulose embedded into a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix This ternary system mimics nacre’s structure more closely, and features superior mechanical properties in comparison to the corresponding binary systems. Such polymer- or graphene-based ternary systems stand out due to excellent tensile strength and/or toughness. Our previous work addressed the bioinspired fabrication and characterization of V2O5 nanofibre papers[29] This binary system, which is composed of hierarchically arranged 1D V2O5 nanofibres and intercalated water molecules, shows excellent mechanical properties due to the presence of a hydrogen-bonded network. Cyclic nanotensile tests testify the remarkable mechanical cycling stability of the composite material
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