Issue 15, 2021

A bioinspired interfacial design to toughen carbon nanotube fibers

Abstract

Inspired by the nanointerface design of bio-derived structural materials, we design ductile and damage-tolerant carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers by utilizing conductive ionic silk fibroin (ISF) glue to regulate the CNT interface. The mechanical performance of the resulting CNT-ISF fibers is significantly improved, rendering an optimal combination of strength and toughness. Similar to other biological nanocomposites, the CNT-ISF fibers exhibit remarkable damage tolerance behavior due to confined CNT sliding and shearing during tensile fracture, supported by the synchrotron time-resolved small-angle scattering characterization and molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, the CNT-ISF fibers rendered an electric conductivity of 4.4 × 104 S m−1, which is comparable to that of the pristine CNT fibers with the same dimensions. Moreover, the CNT-ISF fibers repeatedly exhibit a linear resistance response to tensile stress, which indicates that, instead of the conventional strain sensors, CNT-ISF fibers can be directly employed in stress sensors. Superior mechanical performance and high conductivity demonstrate the promising potential of CNT-ISF fibers in flexible and wearable devices, such as wearable sensors, smart textiles, artificial muscles and human–machine interfaces.

Graphical abstract: A bioinspired interfacial design to toughen carbon nanotube fibers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
30 ማርች 2021
Accepted
26 ሜይ 2021
First published
27 ሜይ 2021

Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 5706-5717

A bioinspired interfacial design to toughen carbon nanotube fibers

S. Dong, Z. Gan, X. Chen, Y. Pei, B. Li, J. Ren, Y. Wang, H. He and S. Ling, Mater. Chem. Front., 2021, 5, 5706 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM00499A

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