Graphene Nanoarchitectonics: A New Material Horizon for Reinforcement of Sustainable Polymers

Abstract

Using nanoscience to solve the issues that limit the development of a sustainable society is one of the most important topics at present. Sustainable polymers play an important role in the construction of a sustainable society, but its large-scale application is usually limited by the poor mechanical and shape-memory properties of the commonly used epoxy resin. The utilization of nanoarchitectures to improve the shape-memory performance of composite materials is an effective approach. Graphene, among the used reinforcement materials for epoxy resin, is undoubtedly a fascinating example. In this paper, the shape-memory and mechanical properties of graphene-modified epoxy resins are described respectively for different response types. In this minireview, we present an overview of the research results of graphene nanoarchitectonics in the modification of shape-memory epoxy resin composites. Besides, this paper has reviewed the properties of different types of graphene/epoxy composites, looking forward to the development of graphene/epoxy composites and future prospects.

Machine Learning for Shape Memory Graphene Nanoribbons and Applications in Biomedical Engineering

“…On the other hand, GO nanostructures can be employed as nanofillers to strengthen mechanical properties of polymers [24] and can be used to fabricate artificial tough nacre of interest in aerospace applications [25,26]. Additionally, GO can endow with shape memory behavior to nanocomposites [27,28] for bone repair with minimal invasive surgery [29], and electrical actuators with low power consumption [30], essential for many applications in bioengineering. Recently, first-principle calculations have shown that GO with highly ordered epoxy groups can experience shape memory effect on its own without the presence of a polymer matrix [31,32] and can experience recoverable strain rates up to 14%.…”

Progress in Molecular Nanoarchitectonics and Materials Nanoarchitectonics

“…The nanoarchitectonics methodology is supposed to produce functional materials and functional structures from nanoscale unit components through the combination and selection of various processes, including organic synthesis (especially heteromolecular synthesis), atom/molecular manipulation, materials synthesis, self-assembly/self-organization, field-assisted assembly, microfabrication, and bio-related processes [ 35 , 36 ]. Because these features can be applied to many kinds of materials, nanoarchitectonics strategies have been generally used for production of functional materials [ 37 , 38 , 39 ] and regulation of fine structures [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Not limited to material synthesis and fabrication, the nanoarchitectonics concept has been widely applied to various application-oriented fields such as catalysts [ 43 , 44 , 45 ], sensors [ 46 , 47 , 48 ], devices [ 49 , 50 , 51 ], energy-related applications [ 52 , 53 , 54 ], environmental applications [ 55 , 56 , 57 ], bio-related functions [ 58 , 59 , 60 ], and biomedical applications [ 61 , 62 , 63 ].…”