3D printing of layered ceramic/carbon fiber composite with improved toughness

Strong and tough ceramic materials are required for many structural applications, however, these properties tend to be mutually exclusive in many man-made ceramic materials. Inspired by composition of biological materials such as nacre, this work offers a simple and versatile 3D printing approach based on the concept of layered ceramics to overcome such limitations, obtaining both high strength and toughness. The resulting layered ceramic/carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites exhibit an excellent combination of high strength, fracture toughness and work of fracture. Such fracture-resistant behavior can be attributed to the toughening mechanisms of crack deflection, lamellae and fiber 'pull-out', polymer inelastic deformation, and interfacial debonding. This strategy enables the fabrication of layered ceramic/polymer composites with remarkable properties, thus demonstrating its potential applicability to fabricating other layered composites.