Strength and toughness have been often considered as mutually exclusive properties in many synthetic materials. Natural materials like nacre have overcome this conflict by optimizing internal architecture at the nanoscale. In this work, nacre-inspired graphene oxide (GO)-poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite is fabricated, which has a “brick and mortar” microstructure and enhanced interfacial strength. It has a tensile strength of 261 ± 7 MPa and toughness of 5 ± 0.2 MJ m⁻³, which are 55% and 42% greater than conventional GO/PMMA nanocomposites. In addition, the nanocomposite has excellent stability in wet environments. This work, therefore, provides a facile method to fabricate novel nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties.

在许多合成材料中，强度和韧性通常被认为是相互排斥的特性。像珍珠层这样的天然材料通过优化纳米级的内部结构克服了这种冲突。在这项工作中，制备了受珍珠层启发的氧化石墨烯 (GO)-聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯 (PMMA) 纳米复合材料，该复合材料具有“实体”微观结构和增强的界面强度。它的拉伸强度为 261 ± 7 MPa，韧性为 5 ± 0.2 MJ m ^-3，比传统的 GO/PMMA 纳米复合材料高 55% 和 42%。此外，纳米复合材料在潮湿环境中具有优异的稳定性。因此，这项工作为制造具有改进机械性能的新型纳米复合材料提供了一种简便的方法。