Soft–hard dual nanophases: a facile strategy for polymer strengthening and toughening

Abstract

, which are 1.2, 48 and 82 times, respectively, those of neat PLA. Combined high stiffness, large ductility, and super toughness are unprecedented for PLA and enable bio-sourced PLA to replace petroleum-based resins such as PP, PET and PC. Besides, soft-hard dual nanophases in polymers are rarely reported due to significant constraints in terms of modifier dispersion/aggregation, interfacial regulation, and processing difficulties. The construction strategy described herein, combining controlled annealing and a well-designed plasticizer, can efficiently construct soft-hard dual nanophases in polymers, which will greatly advance the nanostructure design of polymers. More importantly, the proposed strategy for materials design will be widely applicable to industrial manufacturing in terms of nanophase construction and interfacial optimization due to the simplicity and availability at a large scale. We envision that this work offers an innovative and facile strategy to circumvent the trade-off between stiffness and extensibility and to advance the nanostructure design of high-performance polymers in a manner applicable to industrial manufacturing.