Chinese scholars make progress in the field of nanocomposites
Figure. High-performance MXene nanocomposites induced by sequential bridging with liquid metal (cover article)
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52125302, 52350012, and 22075009), Prof. Qunfeng Cheng’s team from Beihang University made new progress in the field of nanocomposites. The challenging scientific issue of voids created by capillary shrinkage during the assembly process has been addressed, resulting in MXene nanocomposites that exhibit the highest tensile strength recorded to date. This work provides an avenue for assembling other two-dimensional nanomaterials into macroscopic high-performance nanocomposites. The related research was titled “Ultrastrong MXene film induced by sequential bridging with liquid metal” and published as a cover article in Science on July 5, 2024.
The link to the paper is: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/ science.ado4247.
The “Outline for the Development of Green Aviation Manufacturing Industry (2023-2035)” jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China points out that developing green aviation manufacturing industry is essential for addressing climate change and ensuring the sustainable growth of the aviation sector. Lightweight materials are a crucial technology in this endeavor. Currently, companies like Boeing, Airbus, and C919 aircrafts extensively utilize carbon fiber composites to achieve weight reduction and energy efficiency. However, two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene and titanium carbide, offer superior mechanical and electrical properties, making them ideal candidates for advancing green aviation in the future. A critical scientific challenge in this field is finding ways to harness the exceptional intrinsic properties of two-dimensional nanomaterials in macroscopic assemblies.
Professor Qunfeng Cheng’s team has introduced a novel strategy called “bridging for densification with liquid metal”, which effectively eliminates voids in the resulting nanocomposites by utilizing flowable liquid metal. This approach addresses the scientific challenges of loose structures and low orientation in two-dimensional nanomaterials assembled via wet chemistry. The formation of Ga-O coordination bonds between the liquid metal and MXene nanosheets significantly enhances load transfer efficiency, achieving a record tensile strength of 908.4 MPa, surpassing all previously reported titanium carbide films. In addition, the nanocomposites exhibit excellent electromagnetic shielding performance, integrating structure and function. This innovative strategy offers a perspective for developing other high-performance nanocomposites.
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