title: Hydration and dynamic state of nanoconfined polymer layers govern toughness in nacre-mimetic nanocomposites.
abstract: Biological high-performance composites inspire to create new tough, strong, and stiff structural materials. We show a brittle-to-ductile transition in a self-assembled nacre-inspired poly(vinyl alcohol)/nanoclay composite based on a hydration-induced glass-to-rubber transition in the 2D-nanoconfined poly(vinyl alcohol) layers. The findings open routes to design dissipative toughening mechanisms to combine stiffness and strength in nanocomposites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, (former Helsinki University of Technology), P.O. Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuukka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Verho
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karesoja
authors.forename: Paramita
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Lahja
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martikainen
authors.forename: Reidar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alegría
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ikkala
keywords: biomimetic nanocomposite; glass transition; nacre; toughening