Abstract
In this work, we exploit a confinement-induced molecular synthesis and a resulting bridging mechanism to create confined polyimide thermoset nanocomposites that couple molecular confinement-enhanced toughening with an unprecedented combination of high-temperature properties at low density. We describe a synthesis strategy that involves the infiltration of individual polymer chains through a nanoscale porous network while simultaneous imidization reactions increase the molecular backbone stiffness. In the extreme limit where the confinement length scale is much smaller than the polymer's molecular size, confinement-induced molecular mechanisms give rise to exceptional mechanical properties. We find that polyimide oligomers can undergo cross-linking reactions even in such molecular-scale confinement, increasing the molecular weight of the organic phase and toughening the nanocomposite through a confinement-induced energy dissipation mechanism. This work demonstrates that the confinement-induced molecular bridging mechanism can be extended to thermoset polymers with multifunctional properties, such as excellent thermo-oxidative stability and high service temperatures (>350 °C).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 7040-7044 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nano letters |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 8 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Hybrid materials
- low density materials
- molecular confinement
- nanocomposites
- polyimides
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- Chemistry(all)
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanical Engineering