Multifunctionality Through Embedding Patterned Nanostructures in High-Performance Composites.

Despite being one of the pillars of high-performance materials in the industry, manufacturing carbon fiber composites with concurrent maximized multifunctionality and structural properties has remained elusive primarily due to the lack of practical bottom-up approaches with control over nanoscale interactions. Herein, a programmable spray coating is introduced for the controlled deposition of multiple nanomaterials with tailorable patterns in composites. Guided by the droplet's internal currents, amphiphilicity of the building hybrid nanoparticles deposited on the interfacial region of the composite grants control over the specific surface area and bonding energy values at the atomic scale that results in disk or ring patterns. Controlling these patterns regulate the formation of interfaces, crack containment and damage, and electrical-thermal conductivity, which is lacking in conventional manufacturing with the random inclusion of nanoparticles. Molecular dynamics simulations show that increasing the share of cellulose nanocrystals in the hybrid nanomaterials, which is synchronous with shifting patterns from disk to ring, enhances the cohesion of the epoxy phase and improves the effective interactions between the two phases of carbon and in the interfacial region manifested in higher interlaminar and flexural strength. Transitioning from ring to disk creates a larger connected network manifested in higher thermal and electrical properties with no penalty on mechanical performance. This novel approach introduces a new bottom-up design paradigm, in which the mechanical and multifunctional performance is solely dependent on the shape of the deposited patterns in composites and thus eliminates the tradeoff between properties that are considered paradoxical in today's manufacturing of hierarchical composites . This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.