title: Solid-Liquid Self-Adaptive Polymeric Composite.
abstract: A solid-liquid self-adaptive composite (SAC) is synthesized using a simple mixing-evaporation protocol, with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) as active constituents. SAC exists as a porous solid containing a near equivalent distribution of the solid (PVDF)-liquid (PDMS) phases, with the liquid encapsulated and stabilized within a continuous solid network percolating throughout the structure. The pores, liquid, and solid phases form a complex hierarchical structure, which offers both mechanical robustness and a significant structural adaptability under external forces. SAC exhibits attractive self-healing properties during tension, and demonstrates reversible self-stiffening properties under compression with a maximum of 7-fold increase seen in the storage modulus. In a comparison to existing self-healing and self-stiffening materials, SAC offers distinct advantages in the ease of fabrication, high achievable storage modulus, and reversibility. Such materials could provide a new class of adaptive materials system with multifunctionality, tunability, and scale-up potentials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Alin Cristian
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Chipara
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loya
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Yingchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Liehui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Sidong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Department, State University of Campinas , Campinas-SP 13083-959, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brunetto
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Department, State University of Campinas , Campinas-SP 13083-959, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Qizhong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Bilan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ringe
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Department, State University of Campinas , Campinas-SP 13083-959, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Galvao
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vajtai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Geology, University of Texas-Pan American , 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539, United States.
authors.forename: Mircea
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chipara
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Pulickel M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ajayan
keywords: hierarchical structure; self-adaptive; self-healing; self-stiffening; solid−liquid composite