Close up of Voronoi pattern leaf veins.
Researchers in associate professor Andrew Magenau’s Macromolecular Materials group and Distinguished Professor Michel Barsoum’s Layered Solids Group report the development of a novel vitrimer and MXene nanocomposite which is strong, sustainable, self-repairing, and highly conductive despite a low level of nanomaterial content. This remarkable combination of properties stem from the material’s morphological design in which MXene is embedded in the nanocomposite in a Voronoi style pattern, similar to ones found in the natural world such as cracked mud, giraffe skin or leaf vein structures.
Voronoi patterned MXene vitirimer nanocomposite.
This Voronoi-inspired MXene skeleton significantly contributes to the nanocomposite’s strength and toughness, making it 300% stronger and 50% tougher than the original vitrimer without MXene. Additionally, the vitrimer's dynamic-covalent bonds and MXene's photo-thermal conversion properties allow it to be repaired quickly using only heat or light, restoring its mechanical properties in just minutes or seconds, respectively.
The most impressive outcome, however, is its high electrical conductivity despite a low loading (i.e., relatively small amount of MXene content). “Today, one of the biggest challenges of nanocomposites is that high loadings are commonly needed to impart favorable properties such as conductivity, and those nanomaterials typically come with a very high price tag,” explains Magenau. “This raises the question, how can one have the best of both worlds, favorable properties and a low loading and price? Well, we found a way by developing an innovative fabrication process that creates a new nanocomposite morphology with an electrically conductive MXene skeleton that transcends through the entire polymer.”
This development originated from Magenau’s participation in the Air Force Research Lab Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at AFRL-Materials and Manufacturing. The fabrication method is compatible with traditional manufacturing techniques and has the potential to revolutionize the creation of advanced materials, paving the way for the development of smart materials that can respond to different stimuli and repair. Magenau is now working on developing these second-generation multifunctional materials.
Read the full paper here:
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202412000