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Patel ZS, Meza LR. Toughness Amplification via Controlled Nanostructure in Lightweight Nano-Bouligand Materials. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023:e2207779. [PMID: 36938897 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202207779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The enhanced properties of nanomaterials make them attractive for advanced high-performance materials, but their role in promoting toughness has been unclear. Fabrication challenges often prevent the proper organization of nanomaterial constituents, and inadequate testing methods have led to a poor knowledge of toughness at small scales. In this work, the individual roles of nanomaterials and nanoarchitecture on toughness are quantified by creating lightweight materials made from helicoidal polymeric nanofibers (nano-Bouligand). Unidirectional ( θ $\theta $ = 0°) and nano-Bouligand beams ( θ $\theta $ = 2°-90°) are fabricated using two-photon lithography and are designed in a micro-single edge notch bend (µ-SENB) configuration with relative densities ρ ¯ $\overline \rho $ between 48% and 81%. Experiments demonstrate two unique toughening mechanisms. First, size-enhanced ductility of nanoconfined polymer fibers increases specific fracture energy by 70% in the 0° unidirectional beams. Second, nanoscale stiffness heterogeneity created via inter-layer fiber twisting impedes crack growth and improves absolute fracture energy dissipation by 48% in high-density nano-Bouligand materials. This demonstration of size-enhanced ductility and nanoscale heterogeneity as coexisting toughening mechanisms reveals the capacity for nanoengineered materials to greatly improve mechanical resilience in a new generation of advanced materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zainab S Patel
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Lucas R Meza
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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Goh R, Yoshida E, Schaible E, Behrens R, Monnier CA, Killingsworth B, Kong KW, Hiew SH, Miserez A, Hoon S, Waite JH. Nanolattice-Forming Hybrid Collagens in Protective Shark Egg Cases. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:2878-2890. [PMID: 35748755 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Nanoscopic structural control with long-range ordering remains a profound challenge in nanomaterial fabrication. The nanoarchitectured egg cases of elasmobranchs rely on a hierarchically ordered latticework for their protective function─serving as an exemplary system for nanoscale self-assembly. Although the proteinaceous precursors are known to undergo intermediate liquid crystalline phase transitions before being structurally arrested in the final nanolattice architecture, their sequences have so far remained unknown. By leveraging RNA-seq and proteomic techniques, we identified a cohort of nanolattice-forming proteins comprising a collagenous midblock flanked by domains typically associated with innate immunity and network-forming collagens. Structurally homologous proteins were found in the genomes of other egg-case-producing cartilaginous fishes, suggesting a conserved molecular self-assembly strategy. The identity and stabilizing role of cross-links were subsequently elucidated using mass spectrometry and in situ small-angle X-ray scattering. Our findings provide a new design approach for protein-based liquid crystalline elastomers and the self-assembly of nanolattices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubayn Goh
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 136834, Singapore
| | - Eric Yoshida
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Eric Schaible
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Rachel Behrens
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Christophe A Monnier
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Bradley Killingsworth
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kiat Whye Kong
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore 138673, Singapore
| | - Shu Hui Hiew
- Center for Sustainable Materials (SusMat), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore 639798, Singapore.,School of Biological Sciences, NTU, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Ali Miserez
- Center for Sustainable Materials (SusMat), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore 639798, Singapore.,School of Biological Sciences, NTU, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Shawn Hoon
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore 138673, Singapore
| | - J Herbert Waite
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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