Strength and toughness are two mechanical properties that are generally mutually exclusive but highly sought-after in the design of advanced composite materials. There has only been limited progress in achieving both high strength and toughness in composite materials. However, the fundamental underlying mechanics remain largely unexplored, especially at the nanoscale. Inspired by the lamellar s...

Surfactant or polymer directed self-assembly has been widely investigated to prepare nanostructured metal oxides, semiconductors, and polymers, but this approach is mostly limited to two-phase materials, organic/inorganic hybrids, and nanoparticle or polymer-based nanocomposites. Self-assembled nanostructures from more complex, multiscale, and multiphase building blocks have been investigated w...

The ceramic crown structures under occlusal contact are idealized as flat multilayered structures that are deformed under Hertzian contact loading. Those multilayers consist of a crown-like ceramic top layer, an adhesive layer and the dentin-like substrate. Bio-inspired design of the adhesive layer proposed functionally graded multilayers (FGM) that mimic the dentin-enamel junction in natural t...

Bioinspired design has been central in the development of hierarchical nanocomposites. Particularly, the nacre-mimetic brick-and-mortar structure has shown excellent mechanical properties, as well as gas-barrier properties and optical transparency. Along with these intrinsic properties, the layered structure has also been utilized in sensing devices. Here we extend the multifunctionality of nac...

Organically modified clay was used as reinforcement for HDPE using maleated polyethylene (PEMA) as a compatibilizer. The effect of compatibilizer concentration on the orientation of various structural features in the polymer-layered silicate nanocomposite (PLSN) system was studied using two-dimensional (2D) small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and 2D wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The dispe...

Biobased nanocomposite films for food packaging with high mechanical strength and good oxygen-barrier performance were developed using a hot-water wood extract (HWE). In this work, a facile approach to produce HWE/montmorillonite (MMT) based nanocomposite films with excellent physical properties is described. The focus of this study was to determine the effects of the MMT content on the structu...

Previous composite cryotank designs have relied on the use of conventional composite materials to reduce microcracking and permeability. However, revolutionary advances in nanotechnology derived materials may enable the production of ultra-lightweight cryotanks with significantly enhanced durability and damage tolerance, as well as reduced propellant permeability. Layered silicate nanocomposite...

The high aspect ratio of layered silicate nanoparticles is very convenient to modify the properties of the polymer, but the hydrophilic nature of silicate surfaces impedes their homogeneous dispersion in the organic polymer phase. The hydrophilic clay minerals are commonly treated with ammonium cations with long alkyl chains to improve the compatibility between the silicate layers and the polym...

Carborane-intercalated layered double hydroxide nanohybrids (CB-LDH) and a magnesium ferrite (MF) supported-CB-LDH core-shell nanocomposite (CB-LDH@MF) are reported. The preparation of nanohybrids were carried out by exchanging the interlayer nitrate groups of Mg-Al-NO3-LDH with monothiol-o-carborane (SCB), 1-methyl-2-carboxyl-o-carborane (MeCB), 1-phenyl-2-carboxyl-o-carborane (PhCB) and 1,12-...

Lamellar nanocomposites based on semiconducting polymers incorporated into layered inorganic matrices are prepared by the co-assembly of organic and inorganic precursors. Semiconducting polymer-incorporated silica is prepared by introducing the semiconducting polymers into a tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water homogeneous sol solution containing silica precursor species and a surface-active agent. Semi...