Toughing Versatile Epoxy Nanocomposites with Graphene-Encapsulated Liquid Metal Framework

Multifunctional epoxy nanocomposites have long been pursued as the crucial component of future aerial vehicles, while their practical implementation is unfortunately restricted by the poor toughness and incapability of chemical activity derived from highly cross-linked networks. Here, inspired by biological “brittle–ductile” laminated architecture, a stress-induced graphene-encapsulated liquid metal framework is developed to enhance the fracture toughness of epoxy nanocomposites (2.34 times higher than pure epoxy resin). The resulting “brittle-ductile” laminated structure enables effective crack deflection and unique fracture surface. Furthermore, the reinforced epoxy nanocomposites exhibited high electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness and effective outdoor deicing performance. Present work thus provides an alternative of constructing high-toughness multifunctional epoxy nanocomposites for aerial vehicles application.