Synthetic nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide have stiffness, strength, and toughness that exceed those of any commercial structural material (e.g., steel, concrete, polymers) by several orders of magnitude. However, their applications have been limited, as currently available techniques for assembling these nanoscopic building blocks into macroscopic nanocomposite materials fail to extend their impressive nanoscale properties to the macroscale. In contrast, nanostructures of brittle minerals such as CaCO<sub>3</sub> can be assembled into strong macroscopic natural materials like nacre or bone in the presence of a small amount of proteins. Nature achieves this through a synergistic combination of atomic-scale control of chemical interactions and nanometer- to micrometer-scale control of component organization. Taking inspirations from these natural examples, we have been able to design lightweight, mechanically strong nanocomposites, either by mechanical fabrication and chemical crosslinking, or by interfacing nanofillers such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide sheets with polymers.  This presentation will chronicle our findings in the fabrication of composite thin films of polymers and carbon-based nanofillers by: 1) elucidating the mechanical properties of the interfaces between graphene oxide monolayers and polymers through nanomechanical studies and 2) fabricating polymer-graphene oxide nanocomposites that are flaw-tolerant, rather than flawless.

Thin-film structures based on graphene oxide–models for the ideal polymer-graphene oxide nanocomposites

256th National Meeting (2018)

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