Synergistic toughening of graphene oxide-molybdenum disulfide-thermoplastic polyurethane ternary artificial nacre.

Inspired by the ternary structure of natural nacre, robust ternary artificial nacre is constructed through synergistic toughening of graphene oxide (GO) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets via a vacuum-assisted filtration self-assembly process. The synergistic toughening effect from high mechanical properties of GO and lubrication of MoS2 nanosheets is successfully demonstrated. Meanwhile, the artificial nacre shows high electrical conductivity. This approach for constructing robust artificial nacre by synergistic effect from GO and MoS2 provides a creative opportunity for designing and fabricating integrated artificial nacre in the near future, and this kind of ternary artificial nacre has great potential applications in aerospace, flexible supercapacitor electrodes, artificial muscle, and tissue engineering.