Aramid nanofibers and poly (vinyl alcohol) nanocomposites for ideal combination of strength and toughness via hydrogen bonding interactions

Abstract It remains challengeable for fabricating polymer nanocomposites with combined high strength and toughness. Inspired by spider silk with multiscale hierarchical architectures, we used aramid nanofibers F-3 (ANFs-3) to reinforce poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) via hydrogen bonding assembly. The PVA/ANFs nanocomposite films were prepared by a simple solution casting method. Our results showed that the simultaneously significant enhancement in both strength and toughness of the nanocomposites were achieved, due to the multiple hydrogen bonding interactions between PVA and ANFs-3. When the loading amount of ANFs-3 was 5 wt%, the PVA nanocomposite films demonstrated the best combination of tensile strength and toughness, which were 79.2% and 148.8% higher than that of pure PVA, respectively. Moreover, the thermal stability of PVA/ANFs-3 nanocomposites was greatly enhanced. This work offers a novel and facile approach for producing high performance materials which can be potentially used in specific fields in the future.