Issue 12/2021 - Tough and repairable new material successfully prepared

Researchers at Nanjing University of Science and Technology and Sichuan University have developed a hard and strong repairable material
inspired by dragonfly wings.

Inspired by the ability of organisms to repair their own structure, properties and specific functions, researchers have developed a series of repairable polymer materials
based on supramolecular interactions.
Since non-covalent interactions can reversibly break and bind at the molecular level, these materials not only theoretically have unlimited repair capabilities, but also repair their original functions
.

Dragonfly wings have a unique hierarchical structure
from micro-nano scale to macro scale.
Studies have confirmed that the wings of dragonflies are lightweight, and their specific strength and specific stiffness are higher than commercial aviation aluminum alloys
.
At the same time, it also has a highly regular grading structure and special cracking effect, as well as excellent toughness, bearing capacity and fatigue resistance, which also provides protection for the wings and prevents air friction from breaking the dragonfly wings
.

In view of this, the researchers implanted a three-dimensional interconnected dragonfly-like wing microstructure skeleton in a hard and brittle repairable polymer matrix through the idea of stereomatic, which solved the problem
of brittle fracture of rigid repairable materials.
Compared with the initial material, the comprehensive mechanical properties of the biomimetic composite have been significantly improved, and its stiffness has increased by 3.
8 times, the strength by 25 times, the strain by 7.
9 times, and the fracture toughness by 54.
3 times
.