Abstract
High strength and ductility are highly desired in fiber-reinforced composites, yet achieving both simultaneously remains elusive. A hierarchical architecture is developed utilizing high aspect ratio chemically transformable thermoplastic nanofibers that form covalent bonding with the matrix to toughen the fiber-matrix interphase. The nanoscale fibers are electrospun on the micrometer-scale reinforcing carbon fiber, creating a physically intertwined, randomly oriented scaffold. Unlike conventional covalent bonding of matrix molecules with reinforcing fibers, here, the nanofiber scaffold is utilized ‒ interacting non-covalently with core fiber but bridging covalently with polymer matrix ‒ to create a high volume fraction of immobilized matrix or interphase around core reinforcing elements. This mechanism enables efficient fiber-matrix stress transfer and enhances composite toughness. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals enhancement of the fiber-matrix adhesion facilitated by nanofiber-aided hierarchical bonding with the matrix. The elastic modulus contours of interphase regions obtained from atomic force microscopy clearly indicate the formation of stiffer interphase. These nanoengineered composites exhibit a ≈60% and ≈100% improved in-plane shear strength and toughness, respectively. This approach opens a new avenue for manufacturing toughened high-performance composites.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2305642 |
| Journal | Advanced Science |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 9 2024 |
Funding
This manuscript had been authored by UT‐Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE‐AC05‐00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non‐exclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe‐public‐access‐plan ). This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE‐AC05‐00OR22725, was sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) (Award #: DE‐LC‐000L078) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). LTK and JTD acknowledge support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences, and Engineering Division [FWP#ERKCK60] for spectroscopic characterization of nanofiber‐matrix interface. AFM imaging was performed (MC and LC) at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at ORNL. This research used resources of the Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. This manuscript had been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725, was sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) (Award #: DE-LC-000L078) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). LTK and JTD acknowledge support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences, and Engineering Division [FWP#ERKCK60] for spectroscopic characterization of nanofiber-matrix interface. AFM imaging was performed (MC and LC) at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at ORNL. This research used resources of the Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| CADES | |
| Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences | |
| DOE Public Access Plan | |
| Data Environment for Science | |
| United States Government | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE‐AC05‐00OR22725 |
| Office of Science | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Vehicle Technologies Office | DE‐LC‐000L078 |
| Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering | |
| UT-Battelle |
Keywords
- fiber-matrix adhesion
- fiber-matrix interphase
- fiber-reinforced composites
- hierarchical architecture
- nanofiber scaffold