Li Peng, White Kevin L, Lin Chien-Hong, Kim Daehak, Muliana Anastasia, Krishnamoorti Ramanan, Nishimura Riichi, Sue Hung-Jue
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2014 Jul 9;6(13):10188-95. doi: 10.1021/am5015293. Epub 2014 Jun 27.
Epoxy films containing self-assembled 2D colloidal α-zirconium phosphate nanoplatelets (ZrP) in smectic order were prepared using a simple, energy-efficient fabrication process suitable to industrial processing. The ZrP nanoplatelets form a chiral smectic mesophase with simultaneous lamellar order and helical arrangements in epoxy. The epoxy nanocomposite films are transparent and flexible and exhibit exceptionally high tensile modulus and strength. The findings have broad implications for development of multifunctional materials for engineering applications.
