Biomimetic laminated fiber-reinforced composites with a co-enhancement of strength and toughness

The co-enhancement of strength and toughness (damage-tolerant) is an urgent demand for most fiber-reinforced materials. Unfortunately, these properties are generally mutually exclusive. Hence, it is highly desirable yet challenging to develop new fiber-reinforced structural materials with high strength and toughness. Herein, inspired by the dual-stage rigid-flexible coupling structures (RFCSs) of abalone shell, a biomimetic carbon fiber reinforced composite (BCFRC) was prepared using a method combing droplet-based additive manufacturing and infrared heating-assisted thermoforming. Remarkably, the BCFRC features a unique coordination of high strength (1204 MPa), high toughness (6.29 MJ·m−3), and high stiffness (104 GPa) in tensile tests, benefiting from the co-effect of energy dissipation of brick-and-mortar architected laminates (first-stage RFCS) and the resistance to stress concentration of resin matrix embedded with silanized particles (second-stage RFCS). This work highlights the potential of harnessing the rich designability of fiber prepreg and resin matrix to build high-performance fiber-reinforced materials with bioinspired complex architectures.