Issue 8, 2020

Stronger aramids through molecular design and nanoprocessing

Abstract

We introduce oligo-(1,6-pyrene terephthalamide, oPyrTA) as an oligoamide model for Kevlar®. Through comparison with an oligo-(p-phenylene terephthalamide, oPTA) of similar molecular weight, this work shows that the incorporation of polycyclic aromatic pyrene moieties improves drastically the mechanical properties of the structure, increasing elastic nanoindentation-determined modulus and hardness by factors of 1.9 and 4.3, respectively. Liquid deprotonated dispersions of oPyrTA nanofibers were used as nanoscale building blocks for producing large-surface, free-standing oligomer macroscopic nanofilms. This 2D assembly leads to further significant improvements in reduced modulus and hardness (more than twice) compared to the starting oligomer macroscale fibres, due to a better re-organizational arrangement of the oPyrTA nanofibers in the nanofilms, formed under 2D spatial confinement.

Graphical abstract: Stronger aramids through molecular design and nanoprocessing

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Oct 2019
Accepted
07 Jan 2020
First published
08 Jan 2020

Polym. Chem., 2020,11, 1489-1495

Stronger aramids through molecular design and nanoprocessing

A. Rapakousiou, A. López-Moreno, B. Nieto-Ortega, M. M. Bernal, M. A. Monclús, S. Casado, C. Navío, L. R. González, J. P. Fernández-Blázquez, J. J. Vilatela and E. M. Pérez, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 1489 DOI: 10.1039/C9PY01599J

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